Just like ships,we float through each others lives
by BadassGenius
Summary: It's been three years and a half since Derek left New York for good. Now Addison needs his help to save somebody's life, somebody who she's attached to.  I had to write others instead of other's cuz ffnet wouldn't let me have a longer title than this one
1. How to save a life

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belongs to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to The Fray. These are two of my favorite songs.  
**Author's Note: **This fiction has been in my mind since forever so I hope you'll like it. Actually, I don't really know what will happen exactly so here you are a list of things you should know before starting to read it.

- It's been three years and a half since Derek and Addison saw each other for the last time. After finding his wife in bed with his best friend, Derek left New York and never came back.

- Derek and Addison are not divorced, just separated.

- Meredith knows about Addison. This because I don't want to write about her reactions when Addison will fly to Seattle. Honestly, I hate Meredith and Derek as a couple and I could never ever write about Derek fighting for Meredith or something like that. I'm sorry but that's a line I will never cross. Hopefully you guys won't mind.

- Derek and Meredith are strong and in love but they are not married, not even with a post-it.

- The idea of this fiction sounds awesome in my mind but I don't really know how it will be once written on a blank page. That being said, I have no idea how long this fiction will last nor what will happen exactly.

- You can set this story in every timeline you'd like to see it because I'm not making any distinction about current and former characters on the show. It's SGMWH, btw. The only important thing you need to keep in mind is that this is the first time Addison and Derek meet again.

- Enough said, enjoy the story and let me know what you think!

* * *

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives. **

**- Chapter 1 –**

**How to save a life.**

The yellow cab stopped right in front of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital. Addison paid the taxi driver and jumped off the car, holding a tiny human in her arms.

It was raining in Seattle, it always rained there. It was a chilly November evening and it was so cold that Addison had shivers. She was nervous because she was about to meet her husband after more than three years spent apart. He didn't know she was coming to town and Addison would have never flown to Seattle if she hadn't had a very good reason to do so.

The hospital's door opened and Addison entered. She bite her lower lip and hold the child even tighter.

The room was full of doctors and nurses, she didn't know any of them. Her Louboutin shoes moved quickly on the cold floor, her eyes looking for Derek. She couldn't see him, she needed to find him as soon as possible.

Addison was about to have Derek paged by a blonde nurse when she heard a familiar voice. She immediately turned left and saw him. He hadn't changed a lot: his hair was a little bit longer, his eyes were still beautiful and his voice was just the same it was more than three years ago.

Derek was talking to an intern, who looked quiet young compared to his age. Addison turned and her eyes caught his; when their eyes met, it was like that skinny intern and the other people were gone. It was just the two of them. Addison and Derek. Derek and Addison. He immediately shook his head, wondering if the redhead, who was standing there holding a child, was who he thought she was.

Addison smiled nervous and walked to Derek. He wanted to run, he didn't want to talk to his adulterous wife but he didn't have a choice. She was just few meters away and he couldn't pretend he didn't see her.

"Hey" the redhead started.

"What are you doing here, Addison?" Derek asked her, angry.

"Straight to the point, huh?"

"Oh and that must be Mark's little girl" he growled.

"You don't get to talk to me like that, Derek!" she hissed "And… you are?" she continued, looking at the intern who was standing by Derek's side.

"I'm… I'm Meredith Grey" the skinny intern whispered, embarrassed.

Derek and Meredith shared an intense glance and, looking at them, Addison understood that Meredith wasn't just some random intern working with Dr. Shepherd. She could read that in their eyes.

"So, you have a girlfriend here…" Addison supposed, raising her right eyebrow.

"I do but it's none of your business, Addison. Why are you here, anyway?" he replied "Oh and your daughter has your hair. Light red… but I'm sure they'll turn darker when she grows up. She must have Mark's eyes or nose…" Derek stated, pointed at the asleep child in Addison's arms.

"She's not Mark's daughter, Derek! She's Archer's daughter, for God's Sake!" Addison shouted.

"I'm impressed" Derek told her "Archer a father? This is really funny, seriously" he started to laugh.

"You don't get to judge him, Derek! Not after giving up on me! On us!" she yelled, angry.

"I won't have this conversation with you, Addison!" he yelled back at her "You're the cheater, not me!"

Addison knew that Derek wouldn't have been too happy to see her in Seattle but she didn't expect such a bad treatment. It seemed like he suddenly forgot all the years they had been together.

"Fine, Derek" she said, lowering her voice.

Addison and Derek looked at each other while all Meredith could do was staring at her pair of Converse.

"So…" Addison started talking, without breaking the eye contact with Derek "I need your help, Derek."

Derek looked at her, skeptical. He didn't want to have to deal with her, he didn't want to hear her words.

"Melanie needs your help" she said, caressing Archer's daughter's hair "She… she has Medulloblastoma…"

Addison's eyes were full of tears but she was trying her best not to cry in front of Derek and his intern.

"That's just so rare, Addison…" Derek admitted "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Archer has already have her cured in New York. She has improved a little but the mass is still pretty big and she needs surgery…" she wiped away her own tears with her free hand.

"And you want me to do it, don't you?"

"Please, Derek. You're the best in your field, you can make a miracle here"

"Why did Archer send you instead of coming here himself?"

"He's… he's depressed, Derek. His wife died giving birth to Melanie and this little girl is all he has. Archer can't deal with Mel's disease, the pain is just too real. He can't lose her too…" she sniffed a little "You have all the reasons to hate me but Melanie has nothing to do with you and me… so please Derek, save her life."

Derek was touched. Addison looked really broken and devastated, he had never seen her down like that in eleven years of marriage. She had always been the strong one between the two of them but now she was really falling apart, begging for his help.

"I'll do it. You're right, Melanie has nothing to do with you and me so… It's not something I'm doing for you, I'm doing it for her. Okay?"

"Thank you so much, Derek"

"Don't thank me, Addison" he mumbled "Go home now, take her here tomorrow morning. Meredith will take care of all the paperwork and the hospitalization. Then I'll visit Melanie and we'll get started."

Addison nodded, one single shiny tear rolled down her right cheek. She felt the urge to hug and kiss her husband but she knew that she just couldn't do that. Mostly because of his new girlfriend.

Three years. Three years had been enough for Derek to forget her, to start fresh with a much younger girl.

"See you tomorrow, then" she said, trying to smile.

Derek didn't even reply, he just took Meredith by the hand and walked away.


	2. Nothing stays, these feelings have wings

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belongs to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter is a line from Ships buy the Umbrellas.  
**Author's Note: **I've had few more ideas so let's see what comes next.

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 2 –**

**Nothing stays, these feelings have wings.**

Addison opened her eyes in the very moment her alarm clock started ringing. She was still tired but she needed to get up and get things started. Her head was hurting and it was like she had something in her stomach: she had problems to breathe and most of all, she was shattered, devasted.

She knew why she was feeling that way. It was because of Meredith. Seeing her husband with another girl, so much younger than both of them, hurt Addison more that it should. Their sparkling eyes, the way they got each other with one single glance… She had that with Derek, years and years ago. She knew how it felt to be by Derek's side; he had always made her feel protected, safe, loved. All was lost now, everything was just gone and he had already replaced his own wife with another girl, with an intern.

The redhead shook her head, trying to send those painful thoughts away. She tried her best not to cry; her day had just started and she had a long day ahead of her, she couldn't lose it already.

Addison took a quick shower and got dressed. It was already time to wake Melanie up.

"Melanie, honey" Addison whispered "It's time to get up"

The little girl yawned, tossed and turned. She had always been a lazy child.

"Come on, get up. Dr. Shepherd is going to save your life today" Addison smiled at the still asleep child.

"The other you?" Melanie mumbled.

"Yeah, the other me" Addison couldn't help but laugh.

When Addison told her niece that a certain Dr. Shepherd was going to save her life, Melanie got all excited because also Addison's last name was Shepherd. Addison told Melanie that they had been together once, that they got married but then they broke up, that sometimes adults make mistakes and sometimes there's no turning back from these mistakes. Melanie didn't really understand it all because she was way too young but Addison wanted to tell her the truth anyway.

"I so want to meet him!" the little girl stood up immediately.

"Come on!" Addison lifted the little girl in the air "Let's get you dressed, okay?"

Melanie simply nodded, putting one tiny arm around Addison's neck.

"Can I wear the blue dress uncle Mark gave me for my third birthday?" Melanie asked Addison, looking at her in the eyes.

"Sure. You look beautiful in it" Addison kissed the little girl on the cheek.

"Thanks, aunt Addie" Melanie simply said, kissing her aunt back.

Addison helped Melanie to get dressed, brushed her hair and helped her to wear a pair of matching blue flat shoes. The little girl looked beautiful.

"This is a great day. You know that, right?" Addison knelt to the ground, in order to look Melanie in the eyes.

"I'm scared" Melanie announced, running away.

"No, Melanie!" Addison got up and went after the little kid.

The hotel-suite in which they spent the night was pretty big so Melanie could have hidden herself almost everywhere.

"Don't do this… Come on, Mel!" Addison said, trying to be patient.

Nobody answered, so Addison started looking for Melanie. She looked in the bathroom but the kid wasn't there, then looked under their beds but Melanie wasn't hiding herself there either. Addison was losing it, she was already stressed and looking for a whimsical child wasn't in her plans.

Suddenly, the redhead had an idea. Addison opened the walk-in closet and there she was: Melanie was sitting on the floor, her back leaned on the wall, her knees up to her chest, her arms around her knees.

"Oh, honey…" Addison wanted to yell at Melanie but looking at her, she just couldn't. The little girl was crying, she looked so scared.

"I…" Melanie sobbed "I… don't want to go"

"Derek… Dr. Shepherd is not gonna hurt you, baby. He'll make you feel better. We've talked a lot about this. Dr. Shepherd might be a bad man but he's one of the best surgeons in the world. He's the best in his field" Addison tried to reassure the scared kid.

"You promise me that I'll feel better after surgery?" Melanie's voice was pleading.

"I promise you, Melanie Heaven Montgomery, that after this surgery you'll be hale and hearty" Addison smiled.

"Okay. I think we can go then…" Melanie got up and left the walk-in closet.

"Come here" Addison gently said and then she took Melanie in her arms and caressed her face. "I know you're scared. Sometimes, people need to do extraordinary things in order to survive" Addison swallowed "These extraordinary things might be scary and you might be terrified, but if you relax these things will turn out good. They'll help you. They'll heal you."

"Do you trust Dr. Shepherd?" Melanie asked.

"I…" Addison took a deep breath "I do. I told you, he's the best here"

"Ok then. Can Tommy come with us?"

"Of course. He'll keep you great company" Addison replied and let Melanie go.

The little girl grabbed her favorite teddy bear and wore her blue coat. Addison put on her own black coat and then they were ready to go. They left the room and Addison called a cab.

Melanie was a little older than three years old but she was quite smart for her age. Being grown up among a lot of adults, Melanie could already speak fluently and without making any big mistakes. Doctors and nurses were her family, she loved to draw on old charts sitting in Archer's office while he was saving lives.

The cab took them to SGMWH in less than ten minutes. Once there, Addison felt that heavy thing in her stomach again but she couldn't let her emotions take over her. Addison wasn't in Seattle for Derek but for Melanie. She was there to save her niece's life, not to get her husband back.

The hospital's doors opened and Addison walked quickly to a nurse.

"Page Dr. Shepherd for me, please" she said.

"And you are… ?" the nurse replied, skeptical.

"I'm… " Addison hesitated "I'm Addison Montgomery Shepherd. I'm here for Melanie Montgomery"

The nurse looked at Addison, then at Melanie who smiled at her. The nurse smiled back at the little girl and then paged Dr. Shepherd.

"I'll be here in… Oh there he is!" the nurse announced.

Addison turned and saw Derek walking to her.

"Hi, Addison" he simply said. His face was cold, he didn't show any expression, any feeling.

"Derek" she replied.

In that moment Meredith arrived and smiled at the three of them.

"So, let's get things started!" the intern exclaimed, happily.

Of course she was happy, this was the first real important case she had ever been assigned to.


	3. When you love someone but it goes to

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belongs to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter is a line from Fix You, Coldplay. I don't know anything, i wih i did but i don't.  
**Author's Note: "**You do look like you could use a friend right now."

* * *

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

****

- Chapter 3 –

********

**[ When you love someone but it goes to waste could it be worse? ]**

"So" Derek started talking "Meredith's gonna bring Melanie up to Radiology because I need a brain x-ray before starting the surgery."

"Sure" Addison nodded, holding Melanie's hand a little tighter.

"Then we'll operate her in three hours" Derek added "The sooner we do this, the better it will be for the child."

"Melanie, let's bring you upstairs okay?" Melanie suggested, smiling at the little girl.

Melanie nodded and Addison knelt to the ground to be as tall as her niece.

"Do you remember what I told you before coming here?" Addison asked, gently.

"I do. Everything's gonna be alright" Melanie confirmed.

"That's it, darling" Addison hugged the scared child "Now go with Dr. Grey. I'm sure she'll take good care of you."

The little girl hugged and kissed Addison, then she let go of her and went with Meredith in order to have that brain x-ray taken.

Addison watched Meredith and Melody walking away. She was scared but she had to trust Derek, she needed to believe that everything would have turned out good.

"We should go too" Derek announced, without looking at his wife "I'm gonna introduce you the doctors who are going to work with me."

"Good" she replied.

They started walking and got into the first elevator they could see. It was just the two of them in it and the tension was really high. They both felt uncomfortable and even if Addison couldn't wait to get out of it, she pushed the stop button.

"Are you going to be like this all the time, Derek?" she simply asked, her arms crossed on her lap.

"Like what, Addison?"

"Like this!" she said, louder this time "You're not even looking at me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he growled "Now, why don't you just push the stop button again? That way…"

"No, Derek!" she yelled, interrupting him "I'm here, okay? Don't act like I wasn't!"

"It's like you weren't here, Addison!" he shouted back at her "I don't want you here! I… After Melanie's hospitalization I don't want to see you ever again!"

"You're unbelievable, Derek! You don't even want to talk!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled out "You mean nothing to me! You screwed my best friend almost four years ago and now you come here pretending that nothing ever happened?"

"I'm not, Derek, I'm not!" she screamed. Her eyes were full of tears but she was trying her best not to cry in front of Derek "I thought that we… we could have been friends! But apparently I was wrong!"

"Yes, you were!" he agreed, pushing her away in order to push the stop button again.

They walked to the room, where the other doctors were waiting for them, without talking. Addison was few steps behind Derek and she wiped away her tears while walking quickly.

Derek opened the door and four doctors immediately stood up from their comfortable chairs.

"Shepherd" a short black woman greeted Derek.

"Good morning everybody" Derek smiled, like the fight he just had with Addison never happened "Today we're gonna make a miracle or, at least, we're gonna try" he chuckled "Before getting ready for surgery, I just want to introduce you Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd. She's Melanie's aunt and…"

"… and his adulterous wife" Addison finished his sentence.

Derek gave her an angry look and mentally cursed her in every possible way.

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Montgomery Shepherd. I'm Dr. Bailey" Miranda shook Addison's hand "I'm an Attending of General Surgery and I've operated on children like a bazillion times during my career. Don't worry, your little girl is in good hands."

"I'm honored, Dr. Bailey" Addison gave her a big smile.

"I'm Arizona Robbins, Chief of Peds" a blonde doctor introduced herself "Even if your… uh... Dr. Shepherd will do the real surgery, I'll be there to give him all the support he needs. I'm the best when it comes to the tiny humans."

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Robbins" Addison shook her hand "Thank you… for everything."

Arizona nodded and smiled, then Derek started talking again.

"And these are two of our interns, Cristina Yang and Jackson Avery. Dr. Yang will be by my side, helping me with the surgery while Dr. Avery, along with Dr. Grey, will be monitoring the whole thing and will be ready to help us if anything goes wrong."

Addison smiled at the two young interns, who smiled back at her.

"I want to see the surgery from the gallery" Addison announced.

"I don't think it's a good idea" Derek replied, coldly.

"Why not?" she asked "Seriously, Derek. I know how a brain surgery works, I just want to be by Melanie's side every step of the way."

"Look, Addison…" he exhaled "If something goes wrong, you'll freak out. You'll fall apart. Seriously, you don't want to see it. I know you."

"Please, Derek…" she begged him.

In the meanwhile the four doctors left the room, thinking that the Shepherds could have used some privacy.

"I don't know…"

"I understand you don't want to talk to me but please, let me see the surgery and I promise you that… that after all this mess I'll never come back here."

"You don't…" he hesitated "If this is what you want, Addison…"

"It's exactly what I want, Derek."

"Fine, then" he finally gave her his consent "I have to go now. Meredith's waiting for me with Melanie's brain x-ray."

"Okay… I'll see you later then" she said.

"Yeah…" he replied and left the room.

Addison sat on one of those comfy chairs and looked at the blue clock on the wall: Melanie's surgery would have started in two hours. She was feeling tired, broken. When she came to Seattle, she didn't imagine that Derek would treat her like that. He moved on, she just didn't mean anything to him anymore. Addison felt like the only person she had ever loved, hated her.

Tears started streaming down her face and she didn't do anything to stop them. Addison stood up and ran to the first bathroom she could find; she got in and locked the door of her toilet. She sat on the floor and now that she was alone and safe, she let all the pain go. The redhead cried, her head hidden in her hands, thinking that coming to Seattle was another of her biggest mistakes.

"Ma'am?" a female voice asked.

Addison stopped sobbing and started cleaning her eyes with a tissue.

"I'm… I'm just fine" she replied, her voice trembling.

"It doesn't look like you are" the other girl stated "I'm a Doctor. Just open the door and I'll help you."

"Oh, no thanks. I appreciate but I don't need help, okay? Get out of here and I'll leave as well."

"I'm not going anywhere" the other doctor was getting serious "I'm Callie Torres, by the way."

Realizing that Dr. Torres wasn't going to leave the room, Addison, still sat on the floor, stretched out her right arm and opened the door.

"You happy now?" Addison asked, sarcastically.

Callie held out her right hand to Addison, in order to help her to stand up. Addison grabbed it and stood up.

"I'm… I'm Dr. Addison Montgomery Shepherd."

"Oh… You're here for Melanie Montgomery, aren't you?"

"I am…" Addison raised an eyebrow "Wait… Do you all know about this?"

"Well… People talk, you know" Callie shrugged "And… And you're Derek's wife so…"

"I got it" Addison simply said "Thank you… Please, don't tell anyone what just happened, okay?"

"I'll be as mute as a dead body" Callie joked.

Addison couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That was a good one" she admitted "Well… Thanks for the help but I really have to go now. Melanie's surgery will start in less than two hours and…"

"Actually, I was going to watch it from the gallery. I don't have any surgery scheduled for the next six hours. May I watch it with you? You do look like you could use a friend right now."

"It sounds like a plan" Addison nodded "Thank you, Dr. Torres."

"Callie, please" Dr. Torres told Addison, while giving her a pat on the shoulder "Let's go then."

The two women left the room and went to the gallery. When they arrived, there were already ten doctors in the room who were all excited to watch Derek's new miracle.

Addison snorted as she sat with Callie in the first row of chairs.

Melanie was already lying on the operating table and the Anesthetist was about to anesthetize her. Looking at that scene made Addison freeze and she trembled a little.

Callie, who was sitting right next to Addison, hold her hand tight and wiped away the single shiny little tear that was rolling on Addison's cheek.


	4. I love the way you lie

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Eminem and Rihanna.  
**Author's Note: **So, I've finally found some free time to write the new chap. I'm sorry for the long wait! ;)

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 4 –**

**[ I love the way you lie ]**

"It's a beautiful day to save lives" Derek announced, smiling. He looked at the gallery and saw Addison sitting next to Callie. He didn't want her to see the surgery, he didn't want Addison to be there if something went wrong. He knew she would freak out about it.

"Scalpel" he continued and Dr. Yang passed him a sharp scalpel "So… what should I do now, Dr. Yang?"

"Well, Dr. Shepherd" Cristina started speaking "After making an incision, you're going to relieve the hydrocephalus and remove the tumor."

"Very well said, Dr. Yang."

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd."

Derek cut Melanie's head and looked into it.

"Damn, the tumor is really big…" he whispered.

Addison was holding Callie's hand very tight, looking at Melanie under surgery was harder than she thought.

"Don't worry" Callie tried to reassure her "She'll make it."

"I know, Callie. She's a strong little girl, she's a fighter… "

"… and Derek is the best when it comes to brains, you know that."

"Yeah, it's just that…" Addison stopped talking when she saw what was happening in the O.R..

"Vitals' crashing!" Meredith Grey shouted.

"Pressure's dropping!" Jackson Avery continued.

"What the hell did go wrong?" Derek couldn't understand why Melanie was reacting like that.

"Oh my God!"Addison cried, standing up and putting her hands on the gallery's glass.

"She can't breathe!" Arizona stated "I'm gonna stabilize her right now!"

Addison, seeing how bad Melanie was getting, opened the door and started running to the O.R. Callie went after her but the redhead was running faster than the brunette so she got into the scrub-in room before Callie could stop her. Addison quickly wore a mask and got into the O.R.

"You need to do something!" she cried, yelling.

"Addison… What are you doing here? Get out!" Derek yelled while Arizona was performing a Biphasic Cuirass Ventilation on Melanie.

The sound of the monitors were driving Addison crazy.

"You have to do something!" Addison continued, still crying. She was even sobbing but she couldn't care less.

All the people in the room were trying to save Melanie's life and no one paid attention to whatever Addison was saying.

In that moment Callie arrived and tried to get Addison out of the room.

"Get her out, Torres!" Derek ordered.

"Come on, Addison. Let's get out of here" Callie gently whispered to Addison's ear.

"No…" Addison voice was trembling "I can't let her die!"

"Get out, Addison!" Derek yelled at her "GET OUT OF MY O.R. NOW!"

Addison was so scared that she didn't even realize that the monitors had stopped beeping.

"Come on, there's nothing we can do here" Callie said, grabbing Addison's arm "Arizona got Melanie stable. Let's go and get a coffee, okay?"

The redhead wiped away her tears and tried her best to stop sobbing: that way she realized that the monitors were silent again and that Melanie was doing good. She sighed relieved and then nodded. The two women left the room and the surgeons kept operating on Melanie.

"I think we should go back to the gallery" Addison managed to say.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea" Callie told her "I understand Melanie's important to you but what you did few minutes ago could have compromised the whole surgery. Thank God there are two of the best American surgeons in there who didn't lose their control when you started screaming in the O.R… "

"I can't watch her die, Callie. I can't!" she took a deep breath "I'm going to the gallery…"

"Nope."

"Yes, Callie! I'm going to the gallery and you can't tell me what I should or shouldn't do!" Addison growled and started walking faster in order to overtake Callie. The brunette just mumbled some swear words and followed Addison to the gallery.

Three hours later the surgery finished. Melanie was safe and all the doctors in the gallery clapped their hands then they all left the gallery. Callie and Addison were the only ones left.

"I'm gonna check on Melanie. Wanna come?" Addison asked Callie.

"Sure thing" Callie simply nodded.

"Oh and about before…" Addison continued, wiping a wisp of shiny red hair behind her left ear "I'm sorry. I should have known better and…"

"Don't" Callie interrupted her.

"Thank you" Addison whispered.

Then they left the gallery and started walking, heading to Melanie's room. A blonde nurse told them that Mel's room was #347 and when they got in the room, all the doctors who performed the surgery were there.

"Hi everyone" Addison greeted them, trying her best to smile.

"The surgery was a success" Derek announced, smiling "We removed the whole tumor and according to the lumbar puncture we performed right after the operation, we can tell you that there aren't any tumor cells in her spinal fluid. She'll be fine, Addison."

"Oh thank God" she sighed "Thank you so much, Derek. Thank you for saving her."

"You're welcome" he squeezed her hand, as to let her know that he was there for her.

Addison felt the urge to hug him and so she did. It wasn't a husband-and-wife hug, it was more a thanking hug: that kind of hug where you slightly embrace the other and you can barely feel their heart beating.

Derek felt a little embarrassed, everybody was looking at them but he, for just one second, hugged his wife back and then let go of her.

"She is supposed to wake up in twelve hours" he let her know.

"That's good" she nodded.

"Yes" he agreed "See you in twelve hours then."

Derek left the room, followed by the other doctors. Callie hugged Addison and left as well.

Addison sat on the comfortable armchair by Melanie's bed and squeezed her hand.

"I knew you were strong enough to do this" she whispered, trying not to cry "I'm so proud of you, honey. And I'm sorry I freaked out when you needed me the most but, you know, I can't live without you."

The woman stood up and kissed the little girl on the cheek then she sat on the armchair again and fell asleep.

Almost twelve hours later Addison was woken up by Derek and all the other doctors who entered the room.

"Good morning" she mumbled and stood up.

"She should wake up any minute" Derek told her.

Melanie's eyelids slowly moved and after few seconds, her beautiful deep blue eyes saw the light again.

Addison got closer to her and squeezed her hand.

"Hi, mommy" the little redhead girl said, smiling.


	5. Bleeding Love

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Leona Lewis.  
**Author's Note: **What did Melanie's two words actually mean?

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives. **

**- Chapter 5 –**

**[ Bleeding Love ]**

Those two simple words left everybody speechless. Suddenly the room was quiet and silent. Nobody was speaking anymore and it was like everybody was holding their breath because the room was as noiseless as a tomb.

Addison froze and her knees trembled a little, she couldn't say anything. She felt like fainting but she needed to be strong both for her and for Melanie because the truth had just bobbed up.

Melanie's eyes met Addison's ones and the kid realized that she did something wrong.

"I… I'm sorry" the little girl whispered.

"Don't worry honey" Addison reassured her daughter, squeezing her hand and kissing her on the forehead.

"Mo… mommy?" Derek was the first person in the room brave enough to face Addison.

Addison couldn't look at him in the eyes so she looked down and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Derek" she simply said.

Derek couldn't believe his ears. Addison had lied to him, to all of them, for all that time. Melanie wasn't her niece, she was her daughter. He just couldn't understand why she decided to lie about something like that.

"Why, Addison? Just tell me why" his voice was calm.

Meredith looked better at Melanie and something particular caught her attention: looking better at Melanie's eyes, Meredith realized that she knew those eyes, that they looked so familiar to her.

"Oh my God…" she leaped up "Derek!" she raised her voice "Her eyes, Derek! Look at her eyes, Derek!"

"Derek, let me explain!" Addison begged him, her voice was trembling.

Derek quickly looked at Meredith, at Melanie and then at Addison. The resemblance was evident: Melanie's hair was as red as Addison's was when she was three years old and her eyes... there was something in her eyes that he didn't want to admit. He just couldn't think about that kind of possibility.

"Derek… Derek, please" the redhead continued, moving closer to Derek.

"No…" he managed to say. He turned over and left the room, slamming the door.

"Please, tell me Derek's not the father " Meredith stated.

Addison kissed Melanie and whispered some sweet words to her ear then she grabbed her bag, ready to leave the room. She knew that Melanie was in good hands because both Arizona and Callie were there and, being a doctor herself, Addison knew that they'd take some tests on Melanie to check her neurological conditions.

"Addison…" Meredith continued, her voice was a little angry because Addison wasn't paying attention to her.

"Don't Addison me!" the OB shouted.

"If Derek's the father, he needs to know!" the intern yelled.

"Shut up!" Addison shouted back at Meredith while leaving the room.

Addison needed to find Derek, she needed to talk to him, she needed to explain him her reasons. The hospital was huge and she wasn't familiar with it so all she could do was to look for Derek or have him paged.

She ran down the stairs and spotted the nurse who paged Derek the day before.

"Excuse me" Addison said "Do you know where I can find Dr. Shepherd?"

"Well" the nurse replied "I saw him few minutes ago, he looked pretty upset. I don't know where he might be now, though. I'm sorry."

"Never mind."

The redhead was getting more and more desperate every minute. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm, forcing her to turn over.

"He's in the Chief's office" Callie told her.

"Oh, thank you Callie" Addison murmured.

"Just don't tell him I told you so" Callie joked "Now go!"

Addison simply nodded and started walking again. She took the elevator and in less than five minutes she arrived in front of the Chief's office. She didn't bother to knock on the door, she entered and closed the door.

Derek was sitting at the writing table, his head in his hands.

"We need to talk" Addison gently said.

"What the hell do you want?" Derek raised his face and looked at Addison in the eyes.

"I want to explain" she continued but her husband interrupted her.

"Melanie is your daughter, isn't she?"

Addison took a deep breath and then the word _Yes_ came out of her mouth.

"Damn it, Addison!" the man shouted, standing up.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"You're sorry, Addison? Seriously?" his voice was angry and cold.

"I am, Derek!" she yelled, trying her best to hold the tears.

"Why the hell did you lie to me?" he asked her, screaming.

"If I had told you the truth about Melanie, you wouldn't have cured her!"

"That's not true, Addison!" Derek swallowed "I'm a Doctor, I took an oath!"

"Trust me, you wouldn't have!" Addison continued.

"How am I suppose to trust you? You're nothing but a liar! A cheating liar!" Derek accused his wife, pointing his finger at her chest.

Derek's words hurt Addison so much that she didn't know what to say anymore. Tears were now streaming down her face, they looked like tiny shiny diamonds on a soft surface.

"I…" the woman started, wiping away her tears. Derek interrupted her once again, he wouldn't let her speak.

"Who's the father?" he questioned her.

The redhead passed her fingers through her own hair, her head was hurting so much and so was her heart.

"You" she confessed.

"No… No!"he yelled, pushing her away.

Addison banged her back against the wall.

"Now you listen to me!" she intimated him. Her voice was trembling and angry at the same time "When you left, I was already pregnant! I found it out two weeks after you left! When Mark and I…" she paused and took a deep breath "when we had sex, I was four weeks pregnant. When I skipped my period I blamed the stress and I only took a pregnancy test because I was feeling sick almost every day!"

"You…" Derek tried to say.

"I'm not done yet, Derek!" she yelled "I've called you so many times to tell you! Both when I was pregnant and when your daughter came to life!" Addison were gesticulating with her hands "But you never ever answered the phone! I experienced an extra-uterine pregnancy, Derek! I was feeling so much pain that I wanted to die!" she started to sob and, realizing that Derek was getting closer to her, she pushed him away, scared "And you weren't there! You, my husband, weren't there!"

Derek was taken aback by Addison's words. He felt sorry for her, for not being there when she needed him the most, for not being there for his own daughter… but he hated her at the same time.

"I'm sorry, Addison…" he whispered, unable to look at her in the eyes.

"You're sorry, huh?" she asked him, sarcastically "Go to hell!" she cursed him and sat on the sofa, her face hidden in her hands.

"Does Melanie know that I'm her father?" he asked her, summoning up all his courage.

"No" she replied, raised her face and looked at her husband in the eyes. Addison realized that Derek was crying too, his eyes were full of tears. He looked shattered and full of regrets.

Derek opened the door and left the office. The door slammed and Addison, left alone on the sofa, lapsed into a desperate, liberating crying.


	6. Whatever it takes

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Lifehouse.  
**Author's Note: **I'm glad that most of you liked the big twist! _Written in "italic" because it's a flashback._

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives. **

**- Chapter 6 –**

**[ Whatever it takes ]**

_Addison entered Melanie's room without knocking on the door. _

"_We need to talk" the redhead woman started._

_Melanie pretended her mother wasn't there and kept watching her Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD. Addison turned the TV off and gave her daughter a strict glance._

"_But mommy!" the redhead kid whined._

"_This is serious, Melanie" Addison continued and sat on the bed next to her daughter "I promise you it won't take us a lot of time. After we're done talking I'll let you watch your DVD again, okay?"_

"_Okay" Melanie snorted and looked at her mother. _

"_Next week we're flying to Seattle, you know that…" Addison really didn't know how to tell her daughter what she had planned for the two of them. Melanie was smart but she was just a kid, after all._

"_Sure, mommy" Melanie nodded "We're not going anymore?"_

"_Of course we are" Addison caressed her daughter's hair "There's a little problem though. Do you remember what I told you about a certain Dr. Shepherd sometime ago?"_

"_He's your husband" her daughter whispered._

"_Yeah… that's the point" Addison said "Okay, I'll make this simple. If he knows that you're my daughter, he won't operate you. _

_Melanie looked at Addison without really understanding what her mother just told her. _

_Addison stoop up and started walking, trying her best to find the right words to explain her child why her husband couldn't perform a surgery on her, why he couldn't do his job if Melanie was the patient._

"_You know" she started, passing a hand through her hair "Being adults is complicated. You fall in love and then you make one single mistake and your marriage falls apart. Suddenly it's like you weren't married anymore and at first you're broken, devastated, but then you realize that you have a life to live" Addison's eyes were getting full of tears, remembering the night in which Derek left "So you wake up and you start living your new life but you're alone, you know?" she took a deep breath "The person you love the most starts to hate you, he doesn't reply your calls, he…. well he forgets you" Addison swallowed, her voice was starting to break "Derek hates me, Melanie. He hates everything about me, everything related to me. I can't tell him that you're my daughter 'cause he hates me and he would hate you too. He wouldn't operate you and I can't let that happen" the redhead quickly wiped away the tears from her cheeks._

"_Mommy!" Melanie exclaimed as she stood up and ran into her mother's arms "I love you and if Dr. Shepherd hates you, I don't want him to operate me. You're my mommy!" she whispered to her mother's ear._

"_I love you too, Melbear" Addison said, walking to Melanie's bed and sitting on it with her kid still in her arms "But if we don't tell him the truth, he'll operate you. He'll save your life, Melanie."_

"_But lying is wrong!" Melanie protested, then she let go of her mom and sat next to her. _

"_Damn, you're a smart kid" Addison laughed a little "Sometimes, lying is all you can do. It's not right but I'll do whatever it takes to save your life. I…" Addison inspired "I'm gonna tell Derek that you're my niece"_

"_Uncle Mark's daughter?" the kid suggested, hopeful._

"_Oh no" Addison shook her head "Derek hates him too. Archer's daughter"_

"_But I like Uncle Mark better!" Melanie counteracted._

"_Melanie, please" Addison was about to lose her patience "It's not easy, okay? Just do this for me and I promise… I promise you that I'll take you to Disneyland as soon as you get better."_

_Melanie's eyes brightened up and a big smile appeared on her face._

"_Really?" Melanie whispered, holding her breath._

"_Really" Addison stated, smiling._

"_Okay then" Melanie agreed._

"_All you have to do is to call me Aunt Addie. I'll take care of the rest" Addison announced._

"_Deal. Disneyland, here we come!" Melanie started to jump on her bed._

"_I'm not done yet, Melanie" Addison said, making her daughter stop jumping "We have a week to get used to it. I want you to call me Aunt Addie from now on."_

"_It's not fair!" Melanie fumed, crossing her arms on her lap._

"_It'll be easier this way, trust me" Addison stood up "From now on, I'll be Aunt Addie and you'll be my niece. I know you are not happy about this but it's the only thing I can do to save your life. I wish we had another option… I wish Derek wasn't the best in his field but he is so we need to find a little subterfuge and this isn't that bad after all. Promise me that you'll do your best here, Mel. Seriously, I can't make it on my own" Addison knelt on the ground in order to be as tall as her little daughter._

"_I promise" Melanie said, not really happy about the lie she was about to live._

"_You're the best kid in the world, you know that right?" Addison smiled._

"_And you're the best mommy in the world!" Melanie hugged her mom tight._

_Addison took her daughter in her arms and kissed her on the cheek. Then she put the kid on the bed and turned the TV on again._

"_I guess I'll let you watch Harry Potter now" she consented._

"_Thank you, mommy" Melanie smiled._

"_Excuse me?" Addison asked._

"… _Aunt Addie" Melanie corrected herself and started watching her favorite Harry Potter movie._

_Addison left the room hating herself for what she did to her daughter but, on the other hand, she didn't know any better option. Derek was Melanie's only shot at life and Addison would have done whatever it took to save her, no matter what._


	7. Shattered

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Trading Yesterday.  
**Author's Note: **We're back in the present. Mostly about Addison dealing with the pain of losing Derek for good.

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 7 –**

**[ Shattered ]**

Addison spent an undefined amount of time sitting on that sofa, her head in her hands, crying like a baby. She cried because she hated herself for what she did to Melanie and Derek, she cried because she knew that she did something wrong on so many levels, she cried because she was now more than sure that Derek hated her and she couldn't blame him for that.

She had always been the strong one in the family, the one who never cried but held on and carried on pretending to be fine showing a fake smile on her pretty face. That's exactly what she did when she had to tell everybody that she was pregnant with Derek's child but he didn't know about the pregnancy and when she had to explain the reason why he didn't know.

Flashes of her past came to her mind but Addison knew that she couldn't spend the whole day on that damn sofa, crying and sobbing. She was a strong woman, she was a mother, she had a life to live. If not for her, for Melanie. That poor kid didn't have any fault, she deserved the best.

Summoning up all her strength, the redhead stood up and went to the bathroom. She washed her face and put on some make-up, put her hair in a ponytail and smiled at the picture of herself in the mirror: she looked so good that nobody could have ever known what just happened to her few minutes ago.

Addison was good at hiding her pain, she got that from Bizzy and that was one of the few things she'd thank her mother for. Even if she was heartbroken and had to put that stupid fake smile on her face, the redhead preferred to be like that rather than having people surrounding her trying to comfort her. They would have never been able to cheer her up, to make her feel better because nobody knew how she really felt inside. There was only one person who did but that one person hated her.

The first thing she wanted to do was to check on Melanie. She hadn't heard anything from her doctors in hours so Addison knew that her daughter was okay but she wanted to spend some time with her.

While walking to Melanie's room, Addison's eyes spotted Melanie talking to Cristina. Apparently, they were having fun. They were drinking coffee and Meredith was laughing, her eyes were so happy that Addison didn't want to imagine why she was that happy even if she had few ideas about it. She walked a little quicker because she really didn't want to talk to her and she finally arrived at Melanie's room.

Before opening the door, Addison heard some voices coming from the inside. Melanie wasn't alone. Addison got nervous because she wanted to spend some time with her daughter alone, she didn't want other people to be there. She slowly opened the door and what she saw left her speechless.

Derek was sitting on Melanie's bed, holding her tiny hand, and they were talking and laughing like a real father and his daughter would do.

Addison bit her lower lip, took a deep breath and entered.

"Hi" she said, trying to be polite and gentle.

"Mommy!" Melanie exclaimed, happy.

"Hi sweetheart" Addison smiled and walked closer to her daughter's bed "Hi Derek"

"Addison" Derek stated, without looking at her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her arms crossed on her laps.

"Well… I happen to be her doctor so I'm just checking on her" Derek replied, keeping on looking at his daughter.

"How is she?" Addison continued, trying her best not to fall apart.

"I'm fine, mommy!" Melanie spoke first. Her eyes were sparkling and she really looked happy "He told me that the cancer's gone!"

"That's right, doll" Derek laughed a bit and stood up "Addison,_ your_ daughter is gonna be fine. As you know, we've been able to remove all the cancer and we haven't found any metastasis in her body. We want to run some other tests and the recovery might be a little long but she'll be fine" Derek looked relieved and more relaxed than before.

"Thank you, Derek" Addison whispered, her voice started to break so she inhaled and exhaled deeply "Seriously, thank you so much. For everything" again, she showed him her fake smile and pretended to be okay.

"Well" he started, knowing that Addison wasn't okay "I think I'll go and leave you two some privacy. If you need anything, just page me"

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd!" Melanie said, holding her Teddy Bear in her arms.

"You're welcome" he replied, moving closer to her and caressing her cheek "It's da… Derek" he swallowed, scared, because the word _dad _almost slipped from his mouth.

Addison froze, she didn't want her daughter to know about Derek that way. Addison was the one supposed to tell her. She gave Derek a strict glance and he left the room.

"Too bad you two got divorced" Melanie announced "I like him"

Addison couldn't help but laugh. That was the good thing in children, they always found something good in everyone.

"Life is complicated, honey" she confessed, sitting on Melanie's bed "So, do you want me to take you some of your toys?"

"Can you please get me Mrs. Bennet?" the child asked.

Mrs. Bennet was a doll Naomi gave Melanie before leaving for Seattle. It was her way to wish the kid good luck. Melanie loved that doll right away and it quickly became her favorite doll.

"Sure thing" Addison told her daughter and looked at the clock "Well, it won't take me too long. I have to look for your doll and then I'll come back. You don't have to worry, everything's gonna be alright"

"I'm not worried, mom" Melanie shook her head while looking at her mom.

"You're so strong, Melanie" Addison leaned in and kissed her daughter on the forehead "Try to rest a little. Just close your eyes and try to sleep. I'm sure you're tired"

Melanie simply nodded and kissed her mother back.

Addison stood up, looked at her daughter one last time and then she left the room. She loved her daughter, that child was the most important thing to her and she wanted the best for her. Now that Melanie's cancer was gone, Addison wanted to have her daughter discharged as soon as possible because she wanted to fly away from Seattle, from Derek, from Meredith.

"Addison!" she heard someone calling her name.

She turned around and was surprised to see that Derek was running to her.

"Derek?" she asked.

"You have to tell her!" he panted.

"I will. When time comes, I will" she looked down.

"No, you have to tell her now!" he insisted.

"Derek, she's just gotten out of a risky surgery. You can't ask me to do it now" she denied.

"If you don't, I will" Derek continued, raising his voice.

"You gotta be kidding me" Addison snorted while gesticulating with her hands.

"I'm gonna ask for shared custody" he sighed.

"What the hell, Derek?" she shouted, finally looking at him in the eyes.

"You've taken me away from my child for too long" he shouted back, his voice was angry and cold.

"I wanted to tell you but you never answered the telephone!" her voice started to break, she hadn't thought that Derek would have come this far.

"Fair enough" he surrendered "But I'm her father and I want to be an important part of her life. I want to see her growing up, I want to be there when her eyes brighten up looking at her presents under the Christmas Tree, I want to be there when she starts school, when…" Derek's voice started to fall apart.

"Derek… I…" Addison was shocked, she didn't expect this. Her eyes were already full of tears and she tried her best to send them back "I promise you, I'll tell her soon"

"As soon as she gets better, you'll tell her" he cleared her throat "And if you don't, I will. I'll go to the judge and claim for shared custody. You're warned" he pointed her finger to her chest.

"You're trying to scary me, Derek?" she asked, sarcastically.

"You're warned, Addison. Trust me, I'll do whatever it takes to be with my child"

"Your child, huh?" she yelled "She's my responsibility! You've never been there for me during these years! But you know who has been there for me ever since you left? Mark Sloan! He's been there when I was feeling so much pain that I wanted to die, he was there holding my hand when I had to push_ your_ child out of a relatively little hole of my body! He was there when Melanie said her first word, he was-"

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, so loud that everybody turned towards them "Do not talk about Mark Sloan!"

"It hurts, huh?" she cried, tears were now streaming down her face "You know what? You, the one who was supposed to love me until death would took as apart, are the one who broke me the most! No one has ever hurt me the way you did, Derek! Not even Bizzy!"

Derek just stood there without saying a word. He was taken aback by Addison's words, he felt so much pain inside that he could barely breathe. He swallowed and tried to send the tears away but realizing that he just couldn't make it, looked down pretending that everything would have been okay.

"I gotta go…" he whispered, so low that Addison could barely hear him.

"You're unbelievable, Derek!" she continued "Yes, Derek. Run. Do what you can do best when things get serious, run! Run, Derek, run!" she pushed him away with all her strength.

He tottered and went away, leaving Addison alone. She wiped her tears away and left the hospital trying to avoid all the eyes that were staring at her like she was the mean bitch from New York.


	8. The Space Between

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Dave Matthews Band.  
**Author's Note: **I'm sorry for being so slow but school has started again and in the meanwhile I really wanted to write those two one-shots. Anyway, here we are.

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 8 –**

**[ The Space Between ]**

Addison was resting her weary legs on the comfortable armchair next to Melanie's bed. It was night and the little girl was sleeping peacefully, hugging her Mrs. Bennett doll. Addison was reading a scientific magazine when, finally, her eyes closed and she fell asleep.

Her stay in Seattle was something really hard and she was feeling more tired than ever. The fight with Derek she had had that morning left her even more devastated. Mostly because of the shared custody. Addison really wanted Derek to be in her daughter's life but she didn't feel ready for that. She needed to find the right words to tell Melanie that Derek, the man who left a pregnant woman, was actually her father. Plus, the thought of Meredith being in Melanie's life bothered her so much that she wanted to slap that intern with her own hands.

Suddenly her phone started to ring. Her eyelids opened slowly and it took her few seconds to realize that she wasn't in her brownstone in New York and that her phone was actually ringing.

Addison grabbed her purse and took her phone.

"Do you love him?" he simply asked. His voice was as sharp as a scalpel.

"Wh… what?" she mumbled while rubbing her eyes with her left hand.

"Do you love him?" he repeated without showing any emotion in his voice.

"Derek…" she snorted "It's 4.00 am and-"

"It's a simple question, Addison" he interrupted her "Yes or no"

"I don't even know who you are talking about!" she raised her voice.

"Really, Addison?" he asked, sarcastically "I'm talking about the man you cheated on me with."

"Derek, please" she stood up and locked herself in Melanie's room's bathroom.

"So?" he continued, annoyed.

She didn't reply at first. She sat on the bathroom's floor, her knees up to her chest and took a deep breath.

"No" she finally replied. Her voice cold and distant.

"Okay" he sighed, relieved.

"Okay?" she asked "Is that everything you have to say?"

"Actually, yes. That's everything I have to say" he rubbed his temples, nervously.

"Fine. So… I guess this conversation is over" she stated.

"Yes" he agreed, sipping his scotch "Bye Addison"

"Bye Derek" she said.

"Wait!" he exclaimed right when Addison was about to hang up.

"Yes?" she asked, trying to be polite.

"It's just…" he started, trying to find the right words to say it "I uh… I'm sorry, Addison"

"For what exactly? For treating me like crap since the day I got here? Or maybe for walking away almost four years ago? Or maybe…" she hissed. There were so many things she wanted to tell him but she had to stop because her voice was starting to break and she really didn't want to cry while talking to Derek.

"For everything" he whispered. He stood up from the chair he was sitting on and laid down on the black sofa in his office "I… I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, Addison. Melanie is your daughter but she's also mine… I want to be part of her life but-"

"What if it was too late, Derek?" she fumed, angry "I've spent six months of my life crying at night wondering if you were ever coming around, Derek!" she was now yelling.

"Well, I think Mark took my place soon enough" he hissed.

"Shut the hell up!" she continued "Mark and I… We've never had sex anymore since the time you caught us in bed together! He's a friend, Derek. He's been there for me during the pregnancy and he's the closest thing to father for Melanie but I'm not in love with him! I'm-" she had to stop because she was starting to sob. Tears were streaming down her face and there was nothing she could do about it.

Derek was taken aback by her words. He didn't know what to say, he didn't know he had hurt Addison that much. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, blaming himself for the umpteenth fight they were having.

"Listen" he started "We'll talk another day"

"Things won't change, Derek"

"We'll talk to Melanie one of these days, okay?" he was now begging her.

"Derek… I know you're her father but you have to be patient. I'll tell her soon, I promise"

"We… We'll tell her, Addison. Together" he really wanted to be there when Melanie would know about him being her father.

"Okay…" she moved a lock of red rebel hair behind her ear "I…"

"Where are you?" he asked her. Suddenly, Derek felt like seeing her. He wanted to talk to her, to let her know that his intensions were good. Most of all, he wanted Addison to know that, even if they weren't a couple anymore, they could have raised Melanie together. Someway. Somehow.

"Hotel" she lied "You?"

"Home" he lied. If she wasn't at the hospital, he wouldn't have any reason to tell her where he actually was "Would you like to have breakfast with me tomorrow? You know, to talk about our daughter."

Even if Derek kind of hated Addison and he hadn't forgiven her yet, he knew that he had to try to be civil around her because Melanie was more important than his relationship with his wife. They had to make things work for that little innocent girl.

"I'd love that" she replied, hoping that maybe Derek was changing his mind about her.

"9.00 am. Hospital's Cafeteria. Deal?" he couldn't help but smile a little because his mind brought him to the time where he wasn't married to Addison yet and they were just two Med Students who used to date.

"Deal" she chuckled, remembering her youth with Derek and their breakfasts together before going to their classes.

Derek hung up the phone, stood up from the sofa and decided to go home. It was 5.00 am already and he desperately needed to take a shower and sleep a couple of hours.

Addison left the bathroom and cuddled next to her daughter, who was still asleep. While hugging her daughter, the neonatal surgeon shed tears of hope. Maybe her life wasn't falling apart, maybe Derek was ready to forgive her and give her, give them, another chance.


	9. The Breakfast Club

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas.  
**Author's Note: **I've finally decided the length of this story. It will be 15 chapters long. I've already planned everything and, with 15 chapters, things won't get boring nor ridiculous. The last thing I want is my story becoming unrealistic, boring or taking like ten days to update it because I'll run out of ideas, eventually. That being said, I hope you guys will understand. & I'd also like to thank you all for your lovely reviews. Usually, I always send you a reply but this is my way to thank also the not-registered users, to those who I can't send a reply. Oh when I first wrote this chap, the end was completely different! Enough, enjoy the chap!

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 9 -**

**[ The Breakfast Club ]**

It was 8.30 am when Meredith Grey arrived home. It had been a long night at the hospital and she couldn't wait to cuddle next to her boyfriend, Derek Shepherd. She knew his shift would start in eight hours and so did hers, so they had some time to spend together.

The blonde intern opened the front door and walked to her own bedroom. While opening its door, she realized that Derek wasn't sleeping in their bed but he was already dressed, ready to leave. Actually, he was putting his favorite dark blue coat on.

"Hey" she greeted him. A big smile curved her lips.

"Hey" he replied, absently. His mind was busy thinking about something else.

"Where are you going?" she asked him, curious "I thought we could spend some time together, you know" she added, walking closer to him. Her voice was malicious and seductive.

"I'm having breakfast with Addison" he simply said, giving her his best McDreamy smile.

"You what?" those two words came out f her mouth shocked and cold, almost angry.

"Breakfast. With. Addison." He repeated, pronouncing every single word clearly.

"I got that, Derek" she counteracted "But… why would you do that?"

"We need to talk about Melanie" he let her know, caressing her cheek.

"Melanie here, Addison there" she hissed.

"What's wrong, Meredith?" he asked her while walking out the bedroom.

"What's wrong, Derek?" she was now yelling at him "Seriously?"

The neurosurgeon didn't even reply. Meredith was pissing him off and he didn't want to fight with her that early in the morning nor to arrive late at his breakfast date with Addison.

"You still love her, don't you?" Meredith growled as he was opening the front door.

"Meredith, come on" he replied, coldly "Melanie's my daughter too"

"I know that... It's just…" Meredith swallowed, her voice was starting to tremble "I'm scared you'll take her back… I'm scared that you'll pick her over me, Derek" her voice was so low that he could barely hear her words.

"Honey, it won't happen" he reassured her and entwined her tiny body in a warm hug "I'll go now. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay" she placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Derek inattentively kissed her back, let go of her and left.

xxx

It was 8.55 am when Addison entered the hospital's Cafeteria. She had spent the last night by Mel's bed. The little girl woke up at 7.00 am and was feeling a lot better than the other days. Her skin was rosier, her eyes deeper, her voice louder.

That made Addison happy and relieved at the same time. Her only daughter was doing good, she would have been perfectly healthy soon. The redhead had something in her mind: she wanted to get Melanie discharged and move back to New York with her. Amelia and Archer would have taken care of her once back in their city.

The neonatal surgeon didn't spot Derek in the crowd so she just sat at a table, waiting for him. He arrived then minutes later.

"I'm sorry I'm late" he apologized, panting.

"Don't worry" she smiled as standing up.

"Good. Let's get us something to eat. I'm starving!" he exclaimed.

"Me too" she agreed.

The two Shepherds walked to the Cafeteria's retainers. A brunette girl with hazelnut eyes smiled at them, inviting them to order.

"I'll take an Espresso, two sugars, and a donut. For her a blueberry muffin and a Vanilla Latte, half sugar."

Addison couldn't help but smile. After all those years, he still remembered her favorite things to have for breakfast.

Derek realized that he had just done what he used to do first when they were in Med School and then when they were a married couple; he always ordered for the both of them. He knew exactly what she liked and what she didn't like to eat. He chuckled a little.

"Some things never change, huh?" he joked, trying to snuff the tension out.

"Apparently" she giggled.

The Shepherds walked to a table, sat and started to eat, peacefully.

"How is Melanie doing today?" he asked, carefully.

"She's fine" she replied, politely.

The scene got awkward once again. They were silent, chewing their food, trying to avoid the real conversation they should be having. This was the first meal they had had together after almost four years, after all.

"I should have called you back" he broke the ice. His voice was uncomfortable.

"I appreciate that, Derek" she hissed, without looking at him.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he continued. It was like he was begging Addison's pardon. He didn't want to fight with her but he wanted her to know that he was really sorry for running away like that.

"Let's not talk about this" she swallowed the last piece of her muffin "About us" she cleared her throat, trying to be strong. The memory of that night was still vivid in her mind "We're here for Melanie. Remember?"

"Absolutely" he agreed "I was serious when I said I wanted shared custody. I know it will take time but I want to be here with her. The thing I want the most now is being part of my daughter's life"

"The point is…" Addison started and took a deep breath "Melanie's just gotten out of a high risk surgery. She'll need to process the news of you being her father" she looked down.

"Does she even know she has a father?" he asked her, out of the blue.

"Kind of" she sighed deeply "I told our daughter that her father moved to another state before she was even born. She also knows that you're my husband and that we're not together anymore because I messed up"

"Shit!" he contested, his voice a little louder.

"What I was supposed to tell her, Derek?" she asked, trying her best not to raise her voice because she didn't want to fight with him once again.

"I don't know" he whispered, looking down and shrugging.

"It hasn't been easy for me" she confessed.

The guilt started to take over Derek's soul. Those words hit him like a punch in the face. Honestly, when Addison told him the truth about Melanie, he hadn't thought about his wife raising a child on her own.

"Like you said, let's not talk about the past" he suggested.

She smiled at him and allowed herself to get lost in his blue eyes just for few seconds. Memories flashed before her eyes but she couldn't think about all the precious moments she had spent with Derek Shepherd in her life, she had to think about her baby daughter.

"So…" she cleared her throat "You really want to be a part of her life, don't you?"

"She's my daughter too, Addison" his voice was now calm, relaxed.

"I know that" she smiled, noticing that every time he used the word _daughter_ related to Melanie, his eyes sparkled, vivaciously. An incredible warmth surrounded her heart "We'll tell her the truth. Soon. I promise"

"I've lost too many years of her life already" he admitted "I'd like to do it as soon as possible"

"Just give her few more days. Please"

"One week" he offered "Fair enough?"

"Fair enough" she nodded "You see…" she inhaled and exhaled deeply "We've been civil around each other for like half an hour!"

They burst out laughing simultaneously. For just one moment, their eyes met. Derek's eyes were full of joy, happiness; Addison's eyes were shining more than diamonds. For the first time in years, they were laughing their hearts out together. She felt complete and warm inside, he felt the comfy feeling he hadn't felt in almost four years.

"Well…" he broke that moment because he was starting to feel embarrassed "I should go now"

"Actually…" she mumbled "I should go too"

The two doctors left the Cafeteria and walked together out of the hospital. He was headed to Meredith's house, she to her hotel.

The weather was dizzy and foggy. She hated that. He was used to that.

They took few steps to Derek's car and then they stopped and stood one in front of the other.

"It's been nice… you know" he whispered "Talking to you again. I mean, talking to you _for real_"

"Yes" she half-smiled. She didn't want him to go, she didn't want him to leave her. No matter how much he had hurt her in those days, she loved him so much that she would have forgotten all tears she had shed for him.

He gave her a quick pat on the shoulder, mumbled something and left. She felt the urge to kiss him, to hug him like she used to do when they were young but she knew that it'd be inappropriate so she simply smiled and walked away.

The redhead called a cab and during the run she cried some silent tears. Not tears of sadness, tears of loneliness. She had just realized how lonely and abandoned she felt. Melanie was all she had but she also needed Derek to feel complete. Probably, she would have never gotten him back but she needed to believe that, eventually, things would have gotten better for the two of them. She needed it in order to survive.


	10. Halo

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Beyonce.  
**Author's Note: **You see? Two chapters one after the other! Honestly speaking, I'm not really sure if this chapter is good or not. Especially one thing that happens almost at the end of it. Let me know what you think, please.

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 10 -**

**[ Halo]**

Few days had passed since the breakfast date Addison had with Derek. Her days went by slowly, she mostly stayed at the hospital taking care of Melanie and went to her hotel to take a shower and sleep few hours.

Addison had the time to do a lot of thinking and she came to the conclusion that telling Melanie the truth was the right thing to do even if she was more than sure than a week wasn't enough.

She hadn't seen Derek again since that day. Not that she wanted to, actually. Being on her own after their date, made her realize even more that she was still in love with him. Not that she didn't know it. Actually, she had never stopped loving him in those three years and eight months. She had learnt how to hide her feelings and, after telling everybody that she was doing fine, that she was better off her stupid husband, she had started to believe it. Truth was that her feelings were still in her heart but she had hidden them so well that nobody would have ever imagined how Addison actually felt about her Derek.

Her yellow alarm clock started to ring. The tired woman mumbled something and with her eyes still closed she turned it off. The redhead knew it was 6.00 am. Addison had always woken up that early in the morning in the last few days because she wanted to spend as many hours as possible with her daughter when the little girl was awake.

Summoning up all her strength, the neonatal surgeon slowly got up and took a long warm shower. While getting dressed, she thought that in two days Melanie would have known the truth. That thought scared the hell out of her because she had no idea how the little girl would react to that. Mostly because it wasn't some random guy but Derek Shepherd. Her doctor. The man who saved her life. The husband who left his pregnant wife and started a relationship with a much younger slutty intern.

It was 7.00 am when Addison left the hotel. It was raining and she hated that. The rain was something she couldn't stand. Snow was her thing and she couldn't wait to fly back to New York. Nobody knew that two days ago, Addison had spoken on the phone with Archer and then with Amelia. The three of them had decided that Archer and Amelia would have taken care of Melanie; Addison had let them know that she would have gotten her daughter discharged in less than ten days.

The cab took her to the hospital in less than fifteen minutes and she couldn't help but think that saying goodbye to Derek would have broken her heart because she knew that this time would be for good. Addison knew that Derek wanted to be part of Melanie's life but he didn't want more, he didn't want them to be together and be a real family. He'd be the part-time father who comes and takes his daughter for the weekend. Addison simply hated that. She had never wanted something like that for her daughter.

Her feet walked quickly to Melanie's room. The last thing Addison wanted was to spot Meredith in the crowd. She just couldn't stand that girl. She hated her with a passion. Addison knew that she felt that way about that intern only because she was Derek's dirty mistress. Nothing less, nothing more.

When the redhead arrived in front of Mel's room, Addison realized that the door was half-opened. The door was always closed so there must have been somebody inside. The woman hold her breath and padded along. She heard a familiar voice talking to her little daughter.

She leaned against the door's frame and watched the lovely scene. Her heart started to beat faster, she had no words to express how she felt in that moment.

Derek was sitting on Melanie's bed and they were talking and laughing just like a father and a daughter would do.

"I practice ballet. You know?" Melanie asked, showing Derek a big smile.

"Oh, really?" he asked her back, making a silly voice.

"Really" she nodded "I started eight months ago but I had to stop because of the cancer" her eyes got a little darker "But you saved my life so I'm sure mom will let me take ballet classes again!"

"I'm sure she will" he gently caressed her cheek "Do you like New York?"

"I love it!" the girl exclaimed "F.A.O. Schwarz is my favorite place in the world! Uncle Mark takes me there twice every month and he lets me get whatever I want!" Melanie chuckled remembering her funny times with Uncle Mark.

Derek looked down. He didn't want to hear about Mark but he couldn't ask the little girl to stop talking. Most of all, he hated that Mark had been there for Melanie and Addison when he wasn't.

Addison was listening to her husband and her daughter talking. They were lovely together, they were starting to get to know each other and she didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Uncle Mark…" he whispered "What's your favorite ice-cream flavor?"

"Chocolate Peanut Butter!" she licked her lips "It's the best. My mom doesn't want me to eat too much ice-cream, you know"

"Too much ice-cream isn't healthy, sweetheart" he agreed.

A big smile appeared on Addison's face. She felt something in her stomach realizing that if Derek hadn't left her, this would have been her family. Her perfect family. Her biggest dream becoming truth.

"You're such a doctor!" Melanie burst out laughing "You know, mom often takes me to the hospital with her. She has this big studio where she lets me stay while she's saving lives" the little girl smiled, proud of her mother "Aunt Amy plays with me when she's not busy cutting heads! And Uncle Archer lets me draw on old charts!" Melanie was very familiar with the hospital because she had spent there most of her days, especially when she got sick and she had to stop going to ballet classes and kindergarten.

Derek looked at his daughter, unable to talk. He was taken aback by her words, it seemed like she had a pretty busy life back in New York. She seemed happy and complete even without a father. Maybe she didn't even need a father. Maybe she didn't even want a father.

Addison started to feel uncomfortable when Derek didn't reply to his daughter so she decided to come into the room and join the conversation.

"Hey you two" she smiled, pretending she hadn't been there the whole time.

"Mommy!" Melanie shouted, lifting her arms in the air like she always did when she was really happy.

"Hey Addison" Derek greeted her as standing up "I was… uh…"

"Don't worry, Derek" she replied, trying to make him feel comfortable.

"Derek is the best!" Melanie exclaimed, not caring that her mother was actually speaking.

Addison laughed a bit while Derek felt broken and empty inside. Finally, he realized that he had ruined everything and that telling Melanie the truth wouldn't have made things better.

"I should go" he hissed, his voice distant and cold.

"But…" Melanie started.

"Derek…" Addison added.

The neurosurgeon turned over and walked to the door. He opened it and left, slamming the door.

"Did I do something wrong, mommy?" the little girl whispered, hugging Mrs. Bennett.

"Oh no, honey" Addison walked to her daughter and kissed the top of her head "I'll go talk to him. I'll be back in few minutes. Okay?" she suggested.

Melanie simply nodded and watched her mother leaving the room.

Addison saw Derek walking to the elevator. She started to run because she didn't want to lose him.

Derek entered into the first elevator he saw and didn't realize that Addison was going after him.

She jumped into the elevator, its door closed and she immediately pushed the stop button.

"Derek…" she started, looking at him in the eyes "What happened in there?"

"Nothing" he lied, coldly. His eyes were distant and sad, it was like he was about to break.

"It didn't seem nothing to me" she shrugged.

"Nothing, really" he continued and tried to push the stop button once again.

Addison grabbed his wrist and stopped him. She leaned against the wall so he couldn't reach the elevator's button anymore.

"So?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you want from me, Addison?" he raised his voice.

"I want you to tell me what happened in there!" she counteracted.

"Nothing happened" he leaned against the other wall "It's just…" he took a deep breath "She's happy, Addison"

"Well, I know that" she simply said, not understanding what he actually meant with those few words.

"You made an awesome job with her" he looked down "Maybe she doesn't deserve a father like me"

Addison didn't know what to say so she just looked at him. For once, he was the one who was falling apart and not her.

"She'll hate me for leaving her when she needed me the most" he whispered "My daughter will hate me!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she questioned him, moving closer to him "Look at me, Derek" she made him raise his chin and they looked at each other in the eyes "Everything's gonna be alright. Trust me"

They were so close that she could feel his warm breath on her. He could hear her fast heartbeat.

"I don't know, Addison…" his voice was flattering and confused.

"You don't get to fall apart, Derek!" she yelled at him "You can't do this to me! Not now! You can't tell me you want to be with her and then go all confused-"

He pressed his lips against hers and made her stop talking. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. Few second passed and Derek gently pushed her away.

"I… uh…" he mumbled "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Derek…" she grabbed his arm "We…"

He pushed the stop button and the elevator started to move again.

"I'm sorry I kiss you" he apologized "I was uh… I wasn't thinking"

The elevator stopped on the second floor and the Shepherds got out of it. Without even looking at Addison, Derek started to walk to his office. His wife went after him, almost running because he was walking very quickly.

"We need to talk about this" she admitted as he opened his office's doors.

"No, we don't" he stated "I'm really sorry, Addison. I didn't mean it. It didn't mean anything to me" his eyes were teary and his voice angry "I have to go now"

"Please…" her voice was begging him.

Derek closed the door and locked himself in. He sat on the sofa, his head in his hands hating himself for what he had just done. He didn't plan it, it just happened.

Addison wiped away the tears from her eyes and walked to her daughter's room. Once in it, she cuddled next to her little girl and told her that everything was fine with Derek. That he had a surgery to perform and that's why he had to leave so quickly. Addison hated to lie to her own child but she couldn't hurt Melanie telling her the truth.

For the first time in years, Derek Shepherd found himself crying and blaming himself for being such an idiot.


	11. The Hardest Part

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Coldplay.  
**Author's Note: **I'm sorry it took me so long to update this new chapter, enjoy it!

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 11 -**

**[ The Hardest Part ]**

After that unplanned kiss, Addison never saw Derek again. She spent her days with Melanie at the hospital and her nights at the hotel. The little girl had almost fully recovered, her neurological tests were all perfect and it looked like the cancer was gone for good. At least, one thing in their life was going great.

Two days passed and that was a particular day for Addison. Time had come to tell Melanie the truth. After what happened with Derek, the redhead didn't really want to tell her daughter that shocking news. Addison wanted that moment to be comfortable for the three of them but she herself wasn't feeling comfortable at all. She didn't even know if Derek was going to actually come or not.

Derek woke up early that morning and left the house pretty quickly. It was a special day for him, it was a day he had been looking forward to for so long and he wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world. Actually, he hadn't spoken with Addison to arrange the time of their family reunion but he knew that she used to go to the hospital pretty early in the morning. Seeing her again would have been awkward but he had to deal with it because telling Melanie that he was her father came first.

xxx

"Good morning, sweetheart" Addison gently greeted her daughter "How are you feeling today?"

"Mommy!" Melanie happily exclaimed "I'm feeling great! Dr. Robbins came to meet me last night when you had already left the hospital" the little girl looked at her mom straight in the eyes "She said that I'm getting better and better every day!"

"That's great!" Addison smiled at her daughter while sitting next to her on her bed "I'll get you discharged soon and-"

The neonatal surgeon didn't manage to finish her sentence because Melanie's bedroom's door slowly opened. The woman held her breath because she knew exactly who it was.

"Derek!" mother and daughter said. Addison's voice was unsure and low, Melanie's voice was happy and noisy.

"Good morning" he greeted them and looked at his daughter, smiling.

Addison stood up, she was getting nervous. It was time to talk to Melanie but she didn't even know where to start. Addison and Derek should have discussed this earlier but, considering what happened between the two of them, Addison simply refused to give Derek a call. Not that he called her, anyway.

"Addison, do you have a minute?" he broke the ice.

"Sure" she nodded and followed her husband out of the room.

"You know what day is today, don't you?" he asked her.

"Of course I do" she replied, leaning her back against the wall.

"You want me to tell her?" he continued. He looked distant and upset around Addison.

"I'll do it" she simply said "Derek…" she sighed "About the other day-"

"Don't" he interrupted her "Nothing happened. We're fine, Addison" he whispered "We should go inside now…" Derek suggested.

Looking at him, Addison could tell that her husband was lying. He was hiding something, she knew it. The way he gesticulated with his hands like he only did when he was nervous, the short sentences he spelled like he didn't want to give too much away, the way he looked at her. Addison knew her husband too well and she could tell that he was trying to protect himself from something. The only thing she didn't know was why he was acting like that. In other circumstances, she would have made him talk but that wasn't the right day to have one of their fights.

The Shepherds went inside their daughter's room. Addison sat on the bed, on Melanie's right, and kissed the top of Melanie's head.

"Derek" the woman started "You should sit here too" she moved a little closer to Melanie, and Derek sat on the other side of the bed, on Melanie's left.

"What's happening?" Melanie asked, looking first at her mother and then at her father.

"Honey…" Addison inhaled and exhaled deeply "There's something we need to talk. It's nothing scary or sad… It's just…" she paused a second and looked at her daughter in the eyes "It's just something you need to know."

"It's nothing bad, I promise" Derek added, smiling at his little girl.

"Mom, you're scaring me" Melanie admitted.

"Don't be scared, sweetie" Addison reassured her daughter and caressed her cheek "Derek…" she took a deep breath "He… uh…" saying it out loud wasn't actually easy.

"Derek what?" Melanie asked, her voice was scared and low at the same time.

"Derek is your father, Melanie" Addison pronounced those words with her eyes closed. She squeezed her daughter's hand and nervously bit her lower lip.

Nobody said a word. Addison quickly opened her eyes, the situation was so awkward that she wanted to disappear from that room.

"Say something, Melanie" Derek broke the ice. He wasn't really comfortable with awkward situations.

"I don't know what to say…" Melanie acknowledged. She let go of her mother's hand and held tight her Mrs. Bennett doll.

"Everything will be just fine" her father whispered, trying his best to say the right things.

"You left my mother because she made a mistake" the little redhead quoted her mother's words. She was smart and when Addison told her about Derek being her father she made two plus two and everything got suddenly clear. Those words came out of her mouth as sharp as a scalpel.

Derek was taken aback from his daughter's words. Addison was just sitting there, petrified, staring at her own emerald-green skirt.

"It doesn't matter" he counteracted while standing up.

"It _does_ matter" Melanie protested.

"Melanie, honey" Addison managed to say "Look at me. It doesn't matter he doesn't love me anymore, all that matters is that he loves you" she tried her best to sound convincing.

"You lied to me, mom" Melanie's voice broke "You knew and you didn't tell me!" her voice was now angry.

"I couldn't tell you…" Addison admitted "I didn't want to hurt you"

"I didn't know about you, Melanie. It's not your mother's fault" Derek confessed, walking to Addison and sitting next to her "I've been a jerk. I didn't know I had a daughter because I've been a jerk" his eyes got teary, he was starting to fall apart.

Melanie was now sobbing like she used to do when her mother didn't allow her to eat two ice-creams in a row.

"But… but" she muttered.

"No buts" Addison hugged her daughter "Everything will be fine, I promise. We'll make this work."

Melanie hid her head in Addison's lap and hugged her waist.

"I want to be part of your life, Melanie" Derek stated.

"I… I don't need a father! I've never had one!" Melanie raised her head and looked at Derek. Even with her face all red and her eyes swollen due to the crying, she looked beautiful and lovely.

"Don't do this, Mel…" Addison tried to calm her down.

"Melanie, please…" Derek insisted, begging his daughter to let him be part of her life.

"What about you, mom?" Melanie let go of her mother and leaned her back against her pink pillow.

"It's not about me, love" Addison shook her head "It's about you" she gently caressed her daughter's hair "Adults make mistakes, you know that" she swallowed "Derek and I are not together anymore but he's your father and nothing in the world will ever change that. Your father loves you and he always will. You have to give him a chance, you won't regret it."

Derek grabbed Addison's head and squeezed it.

"Your mother is right, I'll always love you" with his free hand he rubbed Melanie's arm "I'm sorry I haven't been here for you when you were sick, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you blew your first candle, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you started your ballet classes…" he cleared his throat, he was trying his best to be the strong one in the room "Will you give me a chance to show you how a great father I am, Melanie?" tears started streaming down his face.

"Daddy!" she cried and cuddled closer to her parents, hugging them both.

"Thank you, Derek" Addison whispered, placing her head on Derek's shoulder.

"You got it, Addie" he replied, letting go of her hand.

They were all shedding tears of joy and Melanie finally had two parents by her side. With his left arm, Derek held his daughter tight while with his right arm her gently caressed Addison's back.

That moment was perfect and Addison felt like her life was complete again even if she knew that that moment couldn't last forever and Derek wasn't actually part of her life again. He was part of Melanie's life, not hers.

Addison's hair smelled like roses and her body, pressed against his, was so warm. Between his daughter and his wife, Derek felt like he was in the right place at the right time. He felt the cosmic pull he used to feel when he was in a relationship with Addison. That crazy feeling that you only get when you're truly in love with someone, that awesome feeling that you feel once in a life time. It's more than love, it's more than physical attraction. It's something so beautiful it makes you want to cry because you've never been this happy. You've never felt so whole, so complete. You can recreate this cosmic pull, you only get it with one person, with _the one. _With your soulmate.

For the first time in a long time, Derek started thinking if what he was doing in his life was right or wrong. If being with Meredith what was he wanted or not. What he needed or not.


	12. Family Affair

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Mary J. Blige.  
**Author's Note: **So, this is a "filler-chapter". Reading your reviews, I've realized that there are many important things left unspoken. They've been in my head since forever so time has come to make them public. It takes place right where the other chapter ended.

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 12 -**

**[ Family Affair ]**

A beep broke the silence. It was Derek's pager. The man left it ring for few seconds but then he decided to check on it. It was 911 so the surgeon really had to go. Derek gently let go of his wife and daughter and slowly stood up.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. There are incomes" he apologized.

"Sure, don't worry" Addison replied, standing up as well.

Derek bended over and kissed the top of Melanie's head, who smiled happily.

"Good bye, daddy" she exclaimed.

"Good bye, Princess" Derek said, smiling "See you later, Addison" he added, walking to the door.

"Sure" Addison nodded and closed the door when Derek had left the room.

The woman went to her daughter's bed and sat on it again. She wiped away the last tears and stared at Melanie. She looked happy and excited, not upset or mad. Maybe having a daddy was all she wanted, deep inside.

"What are you thinking?" Addison asked when the kid assumed a thoughtful position.

"Nothing" Melanie denied, crossing her legs "I have a daddy!" she shouted, raising her arms in the air.

"Yes, you do" Addison agreed.

"Mom?" the little girl asked, lowering her voice.

"Yes?" the redhead woman replied.

"I'm sorry daddy hurt you…" she whispered, unable to look at her mom.

"Melanie" the mother started "You don't have to worry about that. Derek and I… We're the past" she sighed and caressed her daughter's hair "But he's your father. I know I should have told you earlier and I'm sorry for that. But you know what?" she continued and pulled her daughter into her arms "Derek is a good man. He's never gonna hurt you. He'll be there for you, no matter what."

"You promise?" Melanie asked, concerned and finally looking at her mother in the eyes. She really felt loved and protected in Addison's arms.

"I promise" Addison stated. She knew that Derek would have loved Melanie more than anything else.

Melanie smiled, her eyes sparkled and the kid hugged her mother tight. While hugging her child, Addison understood that telling Melanie the truth was the best thing. She deserved to know about her father and she actually seemed to be happy about the shocking news.

"What happens next?" Melanie let go of her mother and leaned her back against her pink pillow.

"What do you mean?" Addison counteracted, not really understanding what her daughter actually meant.

"You, me, dad" the redhead child listed "We live in New York, he lives here."

"Oh…" Addison was taken unawares by her daughter's words "Well" she stood up and started walking in the room. Her heels created a regular rhythm on the floor. "I'll get you discharged in few days and we'll fly home. Derek can come and visit whenever he wants or you…" Addison's hands started to gesticulate, like she used to do when she was really nervous or uncomfortable "I'll bring you to Seattle every time Derek wants to see you. But I think it's more comfortable if he comes. On the weekends, perhaps."

"Why can't he just move in with us?" her voice was so innocent and delicate that Addison felt even more uncomfortable.

"Honey…" she started "As you know pretty well, daddy and I are not together anymore. He doesn't love me anymore and he can't just move in with us out of the blue…" Addison inhaled and exhaled deeply "You know, life is complicated. Love is complicated. Families can be complicated. Derek has a life here, just like you and I have a life in New York."

"It's not fair!" Melanie protested, crossing her arms on her lap.

"A lot of things are not fair, Melanie" Addison was starting to lose her patience because Melanie was making it even harder on her mother "I promise you that, even if you don't live with your father, you'll get to see him every time you want" she knew she was making promises she couldn't keep.

"If you say so…" the kid snorted "And Meredith?"

Addison stopped walking and stared at her daughter, petrified. Nobody had talked about that slutty intern since Melanie came to know about Derek being her father and Addison knew that her daughter had seen Derek and Melanie kissing once or twice.

"What do you know about her?" she asked.

"That she is where you should be" Melanie hissed "I don't like her" she admitted and covered herself with all her blankets, like she wanted to protect herself for something unknown.

"Melanie, Melanie" Addison gently said and walked to her daughter "She's your father's girlfriend but she has nothing to do with you."

"What if she wants to be my mommy?" Melanie closed her eyes, scared to death at the idea of Meredith becoming her new mommy.

"That will never happen" Addison reassured her daughter while gently caressing her back "I am your mother and Meredith being with Derek won't change that" she took a deep breath "And for the record, I don't like Meredith either!"

Mother and daughter burst into laughter and all the tension, all the pain were gone. It was like nothing ever happened, they were finally happy again.

"I want to go home, mommy" Melanie admitted and sat up.

"Me too, honey" Addison agreed "I'll talk to Derek to arrange a couple of things and then we'll be free to go"

"Good" Melanie nodded.

Addison looked at her golden wristwatch and realized that it was almost lunchtime for Melanie. Nurses brought her lunch every day at midday. According to Melanie, hospital's food wasn't that bad. She especially liked chicken with smashed potatoes and chocolate pudding. The only thing she refused to eat was the chicken soup the nurse brought her every two evenings.

"You know what?" Addison stood up "I'm gonna see if Derek's done with his incomes. If so, I'll talk to him right away. Otherwise, I'll come back to you. Okay?"

"Sure" Melanie agreed.

Addison kissed her daughter and left the room. While walking in the hospital's corridors, the neonatal realized she had no idea where Derek might have been. Hoping to not spot Meredith in the crowd, the redhead kept on walking and suddenly she heard somebody calling her name. She turned around and there he was.

"Derek!" she exclaimed "I was looking for you."

Derek walked a little faster and got to Addison.

"There's something I'd like to talk to you about" she confessed, looking at him in the eyes.

"Let's go and get a coffee, okay?" he suggested.

The Cafeteria was full of people waiting for their lunches to be ready so the Shepherds opted for the vending machine. All the white chairs in the little room, where two vending machines were, were empty so they mutually decided to sit down and relax a bit.

"Spit it out" he drank a long sip of his coffee. Its intense taste made him feel more active already.

"Okay" she nodded "There's something we haven't discussed yet. About Melanie" her lips met the plastic glass and sipped the coffee "We're not going to live in Seattle, Derek."

"I didn't expect you to" he shrugged "Look, we're here for Melanie. It's not something between you and me, you know that pretty well" he finished his coffee in one long sip "We're not like every other family, Addison. I'll come on the weekends, if you agree with that" he stood up and threw the empty glass into the trash can.

"That's exactly what I was thinking" she confessed, relieved. The last thing she wanted was a fight with Derek about Melanie's custody. They had already had one and it was more than enough, according to Addison.

"So…" he whispered "We're fine. Weekends. I'll come every time I can"

"You better find some free time!" she scolded him, laughing a bit.

"Don't worry, I will" he was now laughing too.

"Oh and there's another thing…" she hated to break that moment of instant happiness but she had to, because it was now or never "I'm gonna get Melanie discharged in less than a week" she finished her coffee.

"You're already going back to New York, aren't you?" Derek was taken aback by Addison's words. He knew his wife and daughter wouldn't have stayed in Seattle forever but he was hoping for more time.

Addison simply nodded, unable to look at him. She looked down at her black high heel shoes, pretending to be invisible.

"But she hasn't healed completely yet…" he protested, trying to make his arguments valid.

"Amelia and Archer agreed to monitor her in New York" Addison bit her lower lip so hard that she could almost feel blood in her mouth.

"Don't do this" he grabbed her arms and forced her out of her apathy "Look at me, Addison!" he ordered and forced her to look at him in the eyes "I want to know her better. Just… just give me a couple of more days."

Addison rose against Derek and got rid of him. She quickly moved some steps apart from her husband.

"She's sick and tired of being here" she asserted "And so am I. We have nothing here, Derek."

"You have me!" he shouted.

"She has you" Addison corrected her husband "I have nothing here. And you know how much I hate the rain" she tried to snuff the tension out.

"Just…" he sighed "Just give me a day out of here. The three of us. Together" he heaved "Like a family."

She raised her left eyebrow and looked better at Derek. He looked sincere, there was something in his eyes telling her that her husband wanted to be serious about this. Melanie wasn't a joke to him, she knew that.

"Okay" she finally gave in "One day out and then Melanie and I leave. Deal?"

"Deal" he ran his fingers through his hair, nervously.

"Let's do like this" Addison started talking "I'll get her discharged tomorrow morning and will bring her to the hotel. The day after tomorrow the three of us can have dinner together" she suggested "You pick the restaurant."

"Fine" he actually liked the idea. Of course, he wasn't happy about Melanie leaving this early but he knew Addison wouldn't have changed her mind about that "Can I tell her goodbye tomorrow morning?" he asked, carefully.

"Of course, Derek" she sighed "Of course"

"I'll see you tomorrow, then" his feet started moving to the elevator.

"See you tomorrow" she agreed and started walking to the opposite direction.


	13. Today was a Fairytale

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Taylor Swift.  
**Author's Note: **First of all, I'm really sorry you had to wait this long for this chapter but I've been pretty busy and I actually wanted this chapter to be perfect so I tried my best to do so. All the places described in this chapter are real, I've done some research. In case you've forgotten, Melanie's about the get discharged and the Shepherd family is going to have a real dinner all together. I hope you'll like it!

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 13 -**

**[ Today was a Fairytale ]**

Addison woke up earlier than her usual and got ready. A quick shower, a tight black skirt with matching high heels shoes, a silk red shirt and her favorite Burberry coat and she was ready to leave the hotel. The great day had come: it was time to get Melanie discharged and in two days mother and daughter would have left Seattle.

A yellow cab, driven by a fat man in his late fifties, brought Addison to the hospital in few minutes. It wasn't raining, it was foggy and wet and the driver drove pretty quickly. The redhead paid the driver and walked into the familiar hospital.

Getting Melanie discharged was what she wanted for the best of her child but Addison also knew that her daughter would have missed this hospital because the little girl had familiarized with a bunch of doctors and nurses and the little redhead wasn't used to say goodbye for good.

Addison's feet moved closer to the Nurses' Desk and she patiently waited for the blonde nurse to finish the phone call she was doing. Few minutes passed and finally that blonde nurse – Nurse McKinley – hung up the phone and looked at Addison.

"Good morning Dr. Montgomery" the nurse greeted the doctor with a smile on her skinny face.

"Good morning. Could you please page Dr. Robbins for me?" Addison replied.

"Sure" Nurse McKinley nodded and dialed Arizona's pager "She'll be here in few minutes, I guess" she added.

"Fine. I'll wait for her here" Addison said, leaning against the desk.

After almost ten minutes, Addison spotted a blonde head of hair making her way through the crowded hall.

"Dr. Montgomery!" Arizona exclaimed, giving Addison her brightest smile.

"Dr. Robbins" Addison greeted her.

Arizona looked glowing that morning and, looking at her, Addison couldn't help but smile.

"What can I do for you?" Arizona asked while the two women started to walk to a less crowded place.

"I need you to discharge my daughter" Addison admitted as they reached an empty hallway.

Arizona sighed and leaned her back against the white wall.

"I'm sorry but I can't do that" she started to speak, looking the other woman straight in the eyes "I know she's stable but she hasn't fully recovered yet and-"

"Look" Addison interrupted the other doctor "My daughter is fine and I only brought here because of Derek. He's the best neurosurgeon we know and, in fact, he has saved her life" she sighed relieved "His job is done. Melanie doesn't need a neurosurgeon anymore and, anyway, Archer and Amelia will keep an eye on her in New York."

"With all due respect" the blonde doctor said, playing it safe "Melanie is fine _for now. _She needs to stay here, where Dr. _Derek _Shepherd is. And I'm her pediatrician, Dr. Montgomery"

"With all due respect" the neonatal surgeon hit off "Gregory – Dr. Gregory Roger Benson" she immediately corrected herself "he can take it from here."

"Wait-" Arizona rolled her eyes in surprise "Dr. Gregory Roger Benson, the Nobel Prize Winner?"

"Yep" Addison replied "He is Melanie's pediatrician in New York, he's the one who first diagnosed her with cancer" she clouded a little "We spoke on the phone and he's in agreement with the discharge"

"Well" the blonde pediatrician snorted "If that's the case… I'll sign the papers and you'll be free to go" she had always admired the work of Dr. Benson but she had never had the chance to meet him.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Robbins!" Addison exclaimed and hugged Arizona with great unexpected enthusiasm.

"You're welcome!" the other woman replied happily and hugged Addison back.

The two women let go of each other and Arizona went to her office in order to prepare Melanie's papers while Addison decided to go to Melanie's room.

"Hey sweetheart!" Addison went into her daughter's room with a big smile on her face.

"Mommy!" the kid shouted.

"It's time to leave the hospital" the mother announced "Let's get you dressed, okay?"

"Are we going home, mommy?" Melanie asked while Addison was placing a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a pink Hello Kitty sweater on the bed.

"Not yet, honey" Addison replied, caressing her daughter's head "We're gonna have dinner with daddy tomorrow night!"

"Seriously?" Melanie's eyes brightened a little.

"Seriously" Addison confirmed.

"Yay!" the kid shouted and started to jump on the bed.

"No Melanie, don't!" Addison scolded her "You can't do this here! You're not-" she couldn't finish her sentence because looking at her daughter so healthy and happy melted her heart and Addison couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The little redhead started to laugh too and then she jumped into her mother's arms who caught her right on time and twirled her up in the air.

Addison finally put her daughter down and helped her getting dressed. When the child was ready, Addison took her in her arms and walked downstairs to the Nurse's Desk. Arizona was already there, the papers already signed.

"Mommy?" Melanie asked while Addison was talking with Arizona.

"What?"

"I want to say goodbye to the other doctors" the kid complained.

"Melanie…" Addison started, not knowing what to say.

"I'll tell you what" Arizona encroached upon the conversation "Why don't you come here to tell goodbye before leaving? Your mommy told me that you're not leaving Seattle today, so you still have some time left to say goodbye" her voice was sweet and caring.

Melanie started to squirm herself in her mother's arms so Addison let the child off. Once on the ground, the tiny human clung to Arizona's legs and looked up at her face.

"I'll miss you" she whined and Arizona picked Melanie up.

"Promise me you'll come and say goodbye"

"I promise" Melanie's eyes were teary.

"Come on little girl, Dr. Robbins has to work" Addison sniffed, she was about to cry too.

Melanie nodded and she left the hospital with her own mother.

While waiting for the cab, Addison looked at the hospital one last time. Deep down in her heart, she knew she would have missed that place too.

xxx

Addison looked at herself and at Melanie in the mirror. They both looked beautiful.

Addison was wearing a black sheath dress with a matching black blazer and Loboutin high heels shoes. The woman had painted her nails red and wore red lipstick. Her hair was loose on the shoulders.

Melanie was wearing a beige Burberry shirt and a black miniskirt, black flat shoes with a velvet little ribbon on the top of them and a black coat. Addison had put a big white medicated plaster on Melanie's scar; the stitches were gone and the scar was clean but the surgeon didn't want to take risks.

"He should be here anytime" Addison exhaled anxious.

"Let's go downstairs!" Melanie suggested, all excited.

Mom and daughter left the room, took an elevator and left the hotel. Derek was already there, waiting for the two of them in his car. He got off the car and walked to them.

"Hey you two!" the man exclaimed, happy to see Addison and Melanie.

Derek looked handsome in his black tuxedo, his cobalt blue shirt and his black silk tie.

"Daddy!" the kid ran into her father's arms.

The father twirled his daughter in the air and hugged her tight. She smelled like orchid and her skin was so soft and delicate. He inhaled her innocent smell like it was a precious flower.

"Hi Derek" the woman tried her best to hide her anxiety.

"Hi Addison" looking at his ex-wife he realized that she looked more beautiful than ever "Let's go!"

The three of them got into the car and Derek started to drive.

"You still like Italian food, don't you?" he asked to Addison, keeping his eyes on the dark street.

"Sure" she nodded.

"Perfect" he smiled "Let's go to Barolo Ristorante then. It's a beautiful place, you'll see"

"Awesome" she simply replied.

Twenty minutes later Derek parked the car and they got out of it. The air was colder than before and small raindrops had started to fall from the sky.

"Let's go inside!" Derek suggested.

The restaurant was beautiful. Several rooms with wonderful classy furniture. Black chairs and tables with fine white table covers, crystal glasses and silverware. The illumination was soft and charming. Some tables had candles and beautiful flowers on them.

"Derek, it's beautiful" Addison said, admiring the place.

"I knew you would have liked it" he teased her.

"You know me too well, Derek Shepherd" she mocked him.

Derek chuckled and before he could say anything else a waiter reached them and guided them to the table Derek had booked for his family.

Addison helped Melanie sitting on the special chair for toddlers and sat in front of Derek while Melanie was seated between her parents. The waiter placed a bottle of fresh sparkling water on the table and then he left, giving the family some time to decide what they'd like to eat.

"How are you, Melanie?" Derek asked looking at his daughter. Dressed like that she really looked like a mini-Addison.

"I'm fine, daddy" she politely replied "And you?"

"I'm fine too" he opened his black menu "I'm so glad you two came here tonight"

"Me too" Addison agreed "It's good for Melanie to spend some time with you before we leave" she didn't mention that she also needed some time alone with him.

"We're a family!" the little girl exclaimed, a little too loud, before Derek could reply to Addison.

"Low your voice, honey" Addison gave Melanie a strict stare.

"Sorry, mommy" Melanie whispered.

"So" Derek tried to snuff the tension out "What would you like to eat?"

Addison checked the menu before replying. It was full of tasty and delicious food, she was really spoilt for choice.

"I'll take veal scaloppine with black truffle and lemon, sautéed spinach with butter and lemon and vine-ripened beefsteak tomatoes and gorgonzola dolce" Addison made her mouth water.

"Great choice" Derek agreed "I ate those veal scaloppine two weeks ago and they were to die for!"

"That's even better!" she replied enthusiastic "Melanie… look" she turned to the toddler who was staring at her own parents "How about house-made gnocchi with fresh mozzarella, basil and fresh tomato sauce? You usually love the gnocchi Auntie Amelia makes for you"

"Yes, please!" Melanie loved both pasta and gnocchi and she had a thing for her aunt's cooking.

Derek almost spilled the water he was drinking. He looked incredulously at Addison.

"Amelia? My sister Amelia? Since when does she cook?"

"Well" Addison smiled "It happens that she has to babysit Melanie and, you know, our daughter needs to eat" she chuckled "So your sister has learnt how to cook and I have to say that she's pretty good at it."

"Her lasagna is the best in the whole world!" Melanie told her father.

"Unbelievable" Derek laughed. He couldn't believe that his little sister had become that good at cooking.

"You know, Derek" Addison lowered her voice "Things change. For all of us."

He simply nodded and looked at his menu one last time.

"Daddy" Melanie pinched her daddy's arm "I'm hungry!"

Both Addison and Derek laughed and he finally closed his menu.

"So?" the little girl asked.

"So" he teased his daughter "I'll take assorted cheeses with marcona almonds and spicy house made chutney, Belgium endive, arugola and radicchio with caramelized walnuts. And then natural pork tenderloin with Sicilian wine and gorgonzola dolce"

"I've never had that" Melanie shrugged.

"You wouldn't like it" Addison let her daughter know "It's for the grown-ups."

Derek gave Addison a wink and called the waiter. The family ordered the food, the wine and a glass of semi-skimmed milk for the child.

The food arrived in no time and they started to eat.

"Derek" Addison said, savoring her food "This - everything is delicious. Really."

"It's one of the best restaurants in town" he admitted, chewing a slice of cheese on Italian bread.

"These gnocchi are even better than Auntie Amelia's ones!" Melanie confessed, her mouth full.

They all started to laugh and Addison couldn't help but think that this was what she wanted. Derek. Melanie. A family. Looking at Derek, she understood that she wanted him back, she wanted him to be part of her life. Always and forever. On the other hand, she knew that he was already committed to another person and that he had moved on. She was part of his past. It hurt but it was the truth.

"Mommy?" Melanie tapped her fork on her plate to get her mother's attention.

"Addison, are you alright?" Derek asked concerned.

"Oh, yeah. Sure" Addison quickly shook her head "I was just enjoying this yummy food" she looked away and kept eating.

Derek knew she wasn't fine but he couldn't do anything because Melanie was there too and he didn't want to upset his daughter. Also, he didn't want to fight with Addison in his favorite restaurant.

"Mom told me that I can come to Seattle" Melanie stated out of the blue.

Addison froze and looked at Derek in the eyes. He squinted his eyes as to let her know that everything was just fine.

"Sure, babe" he confirmed and caressed his daughter's hand "You can come whenever you want. I'll buy you a bedroom in the next few days" he drank a sip of wine "Or we could buy it together."

"Together!" she decided and stole a small piece of cheese from her father's plate "Will you ever come to New York, daddy?" Melanie added, taking a bite of her cheese.

"Well…" Derek started "Things are complicated – between me and your mother" he sighed.

"Melanie, honey, we've already discussed this" Addison tried to stay calm.

"I know, I know" Melanie replied.

"My life is in Seattle, honey" he looked at his child "You're the only thing I have in New York and, you know I've got a job here. It's easier if you come to Seattle"

"What about mom?"

"Her life is in New York and-" Derek looked at his half-empty plate.

"But I'm in New York too and if you said that-" Melanie interrupted her father, her voice almost a whisper.

"Enough!" Addison raised her voice "You'll go to Seattle whenever you want, Melanie. Your father can't come to New York. He's got a job here, he's got a house here, he's got friends here! He's got a girlfriend here, for God's Sake!" her voice was a little too loud and some people turned around to look at her.

"Addison…" Derek tried to calm her down while Melanie simply stared at her mother with big tears in her eyes.

Realizing that she had just freaked out, Addison wiped her own tears away and looked displeased at her daughter.

"Melanie, I'm sorry" she stood up and took her little girl in the arms "Mom didn't mean it, okay? Mom is just tired, she didn't mean to hurt you" Addison kissed the top of Melanie's head "Mommy's sorry, okay? Okay, babe?"

"Okay, mommy" the kid whispered and didn't cry.

Growing up in a place like an hospital, surrounded by adults, made Melanie a stronger child and she wasn't an easy crier. She whined and complained a lot when she was sad or upset but crying just wasn't her thing.

Addison hated herself for scolding her daughter for nothing but when the kid talked about her father having a life with the two of them, the neonatal surgeon got all anxious, upset even scared. She wouldn't admit it but the woman was scared that Derek might understand that she still had feelings for him.

Derek just sat there and finished the food in his plate. He didn't want to interfere and he honestly had no idea what he should or shouldn't do. Simply, he couldn't understand why Addison reacted that bad to Melanie's words. The kid didn't do anything wrong, she was just politely asking.

Addison placed Melanie on her chair once again and they both started to eat. The tension and the awkwardness of that moment was so tangible that nobody talked and they finished eating quickly.

"Mom, can I take an ice-cream?" Melanie broke the ice. She had eaten all her gnocchi and she really wanted an ice-cream now. It was her favorite food after all.

"Sure, honey" Addison raised her face and looked at her daughter, giving her a smile.

"Sadly, they don't have ice-creams here" Derek let them know while drinking one last glass of wine.

"Oh" the woman complained and grabbed the menu "Let's see what desserts they have" she quickly read the desserts' page and raised an eyebrow "Darling, there's nothing you like here"

"But I want an ice-cream!" Melanie could be very capricious when it came to having an ice-cream.

Derek looked at Addison and smiled at her, chuckling. She looked beautiful but there was a shadow of sadness in her eyes, something he had never seen in her eyes before. They weren't vivid and bright as usual, they looked sad and shattered. Trying not to think about it, the man took his eyes off her.

"Tell you what" he started "There's a very good ice-cream parlor not far from here. It'll take us less than ten minutes to get there" Derek smiled and turned his face to Addison "Is it okay with you?"

"Yes, of course" her bright smile came back for just one second "Thank you, Derek"

"Ice-cream here we come!" Melanie shouted all excited.

Her parents couldn't help but laugh. Melanie's happiness was contagious, her laughter was so crystalline that it filled their hearts with joy and passion.

The father called the waiter, paid the bill and the family left the restaurant.

It had stopped raining and the three Shepherds walked slowly to the car. They had eaten so much and their bellies were full but they also wanted something sweet to finish their dinner.

Derek parked his car in front of the Cold Stone Creamery. They got in and the smell of cakes, ice-creams, pastries and chocolate inebriated their senses. All of a sudden, they were all hungry once again.

"Do they have chocolate peanut butter here?" Melanie asked her father.

"Of course they do" he nodded "And the ice-cream is delicious here."

"Great!" the kid exclaimed.

"Addie" Derek looked at his ex-wife "What will you take?"

"That Strawberry Banana Rendezvous looks spectacular" she replied, staring at it with her big eyes.

"It is" he agreed "I'll take an Apple Pie a la Cold Stone and for my daughter a Peanut Butter Cup Perfection" Derek ordered their food and paid. Addison offered to pay this time but he wouldn't let her.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Melanie started to jump around with her ice-cream in her left hand "It's very good! It's too good for words!"

"Don't jump like that or you'll stain your clothes!" Addison laughed.

Addison didn't say it but that ice-cream was the best one she had ever had. It was simply perfect.

"So, Melanie" Derek started "How do you usually spend your days?" he really wanted to get to know his own daughter.

"Well" her lips and her chin were full of ice-cream "Before getting sick, I used to go to Kindergarten and ballet classes. But…" she cleaned her mouth with the back of her hand and Addison looked at her expressing disapproval "I also spend my days at the hospital in my mom's office. Uncle Archer lets me draw on old charts and Uncle Mark brings me a chocolate donut when mom isn't looking" she sneered.

"Really, Melanie?" Addison fumed "Uncle Mark and I need to talk" she stated.

The idea of Mark being a constant part of Melanie's life hit Derek like a punch in the face. He felt awful and miserable at the same time. He blamed himself for giving up on a daughter he didn't know he had.

"Nice" he whispered and Addison noticed that his face had darken a little. She knew he didn't want to hear about Mark because, deep inside, it hurt him.

"She has only taken few ballet classes but she's really good at it, you know" Addison said, trying to change the topic of the conversation.

"I love to dance!" Melanie nodded and finished her ice-cream.

"I'll come and see your first ballet recital, if you'd like it" Derek proposed.

"Yes, daddy! Please!" the child exclaimed and Addison looked at Derek with her heart full of happiness.

Addison looked at her Dior wristwatch and realized that it was late for Melanie.

"Derek, we'd better go" she suggested.

"Yeah, it's kinda late" he agreed and cleaned his mouth with a light green napkin.

They stood up and left. Addison placed Melanie in the backseat of the car and fastened her seatbelt. The child fell asleep few minutes later, happy to have spent a night with her mommy and daddy together like a real family.

"I'm glad you decided to come" Derek suddenly whispered.

"It's the least I can do" she replied, not looking at her ex-husband "She's your daughter too"

"Yeah" he simply nodded and kept driving to Addison's hotel.

When they arrived, Derek got out of the car first and opened Addison's door.

"Oh thank you" she appreciated his gesture and smiled at him.

"Addison" he finally looked at her in the eyes "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Mm-mm" she was taken on the hip "I'm sorry for what happened in the restaurant. I overreacted" she apologized and looked down at her shoes.

"You don't need to be sorry" he forced her to raise her chin and they made eye contact. Mixed feelings ran down his spine, he felt something he shouldn't have felt. Something forbidden, given his relationship with Meredith Grey.

"Thank you, Derek" her voice broke a little "You know, it's good that we can finally talk without fighting all the time" she confessed as tears started to stream down her face.

"Come here" he pulled her into his arms and ran his fingers through her hair "You could come to Seattle – sometimes" he whispered with a broken voice.

Addison didn't reply but she placed a soft kiss on Derek's neck and then she let go of him. She was now crying and she didn't care that Derek was looking at her like a sad puppy, she didn't care of the consequences, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.

Few seconds of heaven, of pure joy where all their problems seemed to be gone, where Addison felt like she used to feel in Derek's arms so many years ago.

She gently moved away and opened the car's door, picked her asleep daughter up and looked one last time at her soulmate. He had a broken expression on his face, he looked as devastated as she was.

Tiny raindrops started to fall on their heads and they mixed with Addison's silent tears.

"I won't apologize for kissing you" she confessed, holding her child tight against her chest "I've never stopped loving you, Derek" she tore up a little "And I never will."

She ran away with Melanie in her arms, leaving Derek under the rain. His tears got mixed with the raindrops and deep inside he knew that things would have never been the same anymore.

They both knew that that dinner had changed their lives forever.


	14. It's such a shame for us to part

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: In progress  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to Coldplay.  
**Author's Note: **Addison came clean in the previous chapter, leaving Derek alone under the rain. Despite the hard night, Addison is leaving Seattle and the great question is: what is Derek going to do?

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives. **

**- Chapter 14 -**

**[ It's such a shame for us to part ]**

"_I've never stopped loving you. And I never will."_

Those words kept echoing in Addison's head. She was lying in her bed but she couldn't sleep. The redhead knew she had to rest because she would have said goodbye to Seattle - and to Derek - in less than twenty-four hours, but she was 100% awake.

Her eyes open, tears streaming down her face, Addison stretched an arm and caressed the back of her little daughter. Melanie was peacefully asleep, her breath was calm and relaxed. The material of her pink pajamas was soft and warm.

Addison tossed and turned, trying her best to fall asleep. Memories of her life with Derek started to play in her mind and the more she tried to send those painful memories away, the more they came one after another.

The first time she spotted him in their Anatomy Class in Med School, the first time they had a real talk, the first time he asked her out, the first time they made love, Derek's proposal, their wedding.

Images of herself having sex with Mark hit her like a stab in the back. The moment Derek threw her out and walked away on her felt like being hit by a bus.

The pain was just too real and too hard to deal with. Addison started to sob, her left hand on her mouth, trying to muffle her sobs. Her eyes were tired of crying, they were red and swollen.

The neonatal surgeon didn't want to wake her daughter up so she quickly got up and walked to the bathroom. She washed her face with cold water as to wash her pain away.

Devastated and unable to control her sobs, Addison sat on the cold marble floor with her back against the wall.

She buried her face in her hands, desperate. She knew she needed to be strong, that she would have been back in New York in one day but the truth was that she didn't want to leave Derek again.

Being with him, having a night out with him and their daughter, made her realize that she needed him. Derek was still the love of her life and he would have always been the love of her life. No matter what.

Furthermore, Meredith had taken Addison's place. Even if it hurt, Meredith was standing where Addison used to stand only few years ago. That blonde intern was now Derek's everything and there was nothing Addison could do about it. All she had left were the memories. And tears.

Shivering, Addison stood up and went back to her warm comfortable bed. She cuddled closer to her asleep child and shed silent tears full of sadness and regrets.

XXX

Derek got into his car and started driving without a specific destination. The asphalt was wet and it was now raining heavily. He didn't care, though. He couldn't just go home like nothing happened, like he hadn't felt anything. Because he had felt something. A deep feeling he hadn't felt in almost four years.

After fifty miles, the neurosurgeon stopped his car and parked it on the roadside.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the dashboard's drawer and took a red envelope out of it. His fingers carefully opened it, revealing his wedding ring. He hadn't seen that golden ring since he left New York because he had taken it off while driving to the airport and he had never worn it again.

A crystal tear fell on the ring, making it sparkle. The wedding date and their initials hewed in the inner part of the ring. The image of Addison on their wedding day suddenly came to his mind, taking his breath away.

Truth was that Derek Shepherd had just started to do some soul-searching.

XXX

"Mommy?" Melanie whispered.

Addison moaned something undefined in her sleep and refused to open her eyes.

"Mommy?" the child repeated "It's morning!" she stood up and started to jump on the bed.

This time, Addison had to open her eyes. Melanie had turned the lights on and, looking at the alarm-clock on the bedside table, the woman realized that she had to get up.

"Mommy! You're awake!" Melanie exclaimed and stopped jumping. The kid kneeled down and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"Sweetie" Addison gently said, kissing her daughter back.

"I wanna go to the hospital!"

"Mm-mm" Addison simply replied and stood up "Let me call the room service to get some breakfast first. Pancakes?"

Melanie nodded smiling to her mother. The child couldn't wait to go back to New York: she had been missing her NY life and most of all, Uncle Mark, Uncle Archie and Aunt Amelia. She couldn't wait to hug them again. On the other side, though, Melanie didn't want to say goodbye to all her new friends in Seattle and she didn't want to leave her father.

"When will we go to the hospital?" Melanie asked, hugging her Mrs. Bennett.

"I don't know, honey" Addison wore a nightgown and sat next to her daughter "Tell you what" she started "After breakfast we'll get dressed and I'll have our things delivered to the airport. Then we'll go to the hospital, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Melanie shouted, enthusiastic.

Few minutes later a young waiter arrived and served them two pancakes with strawberry jam , an espresso for Addison and a glass of milk for the toddler. Mother and daughter had a quiet breakfast and spent their time eating, laughing and watching some cartoons on TV.

After breakfast, Addison helped her daughter to get dressed. Melanie chose an Hello Kitty sporty red dress with black leggings and red boots. The dress was very comfortable and perfect for the travel by plane.

Addison picked a cobalt blue knee-length Armani dress and her favorite Laboutin high heel shoes. She wore make-up and two drops of perfume and they were ready to go.

"Are you ready to say goodbye?" Addison asked Melanie while leaving the hotel. For good this time.

Melanie hesitated a little and then she finally looked at her mother.

"I'm not" she admitted "I'm gonna miss the doctors and…" she sighed "daddy".

"Oh, honey" Addison took Melanie by the hand "When you come to visit your daddy in Seattle, you can go to the hospital and say hi to your friends there" she smiled.

"You're right!" Melanie exclaimed, her eyes happy again.

The cab arrived and brought them to SGMW Hospital. As usual, it was raining and the weather was even colder than the day before, so the two redheads ran into the hospital.

"Hey! There you are!" an extremely sweet voice exclaimed.

"Dr. Robbins!" Melanie shouted and ran into Arizona's arms.

"How are you, Melbelle?" Arizona gently asked the child.

"Fine, fine! You?"

"Now that you're here, I'm feeling great!" Arizona joked and Melanie laughed.

Addison walked to Arizona with a big smile on her face. She liked that blonde doctor and she would have missed her.

"Thank you, Dr. Robbins" the redhead stated "For everything. You're a great doctor and I appreciate everything you've done for my daughter" Addison gave Arizona a slap on the back.

"My pleasure, Dr. Montgomery" Arizona replied, letting go of Melanie "And feel free to call me Arizona" she added, giving Addison a wink.

"Addison" Addison replied, smiling.

"Come and visit sometimes, okay?" Arizona looked down at Melanie.

"I will! I'll miss you" Melanie's eyes darkened a little.

Arizona kneeled on the ground in order to look at Melanie straight in the eyes.

"I'll miss you too, little redhead" Arizona hugged the toddler "Take care of your mommy, okay?"

The three of them started to laugh and before Melanie could say something, Derek and Callie approached them.

"Daddy!" Melanie loudly exclaimed and ran into her father's arms who twirled her in the air. Father and daughter stayed in the background, playing and laughing together, while Callie walked closer to Addison and Arizona.

"Goodbye, Addison" Callie said and hugged her friend "I wish you and Melanie all the best" she took a deep breath "You know, I hope everything will turn out okay. I don't really know you but I think you're a great person and well, you deserve the best."

"Thank you, Callie" Addison sniffed and hugged her friend back "I'll really miss you. Thank you for being here for me when nobody was" she placed a little kiss on Callie's cheek and said goodbye one last time.

Callie ad Arizona left because they had a surgery to perform so Addison walked closer to her family. Derek was seated on a plastic chair with Melanie on his lap and they looked so happy together, there was so much chemistry between father and daughter that you would have never said that they barely knew each other.

"Seems like you two are having a lot of fun" Addison gently said.

"Daddy was telling me a funny story!" Melanie chuckled.

"Hi, Addison" Derek whispered, his voice shattered and distant.

"Derek" she politely replied "Melanie, say goodbye to daddy and then we really have to go."

Melanie flung her arms around her father's neck and kissed him on the cheeks. The scruff scratched her rosy lips.

"I don't want to go, daddy" she whined "I'll miss you so much!"

"Melanie, listen to me" he tried to calm his daughter down "You don't have to miss me, honey. You can come here whenever you want, okay? My house is your house, you're my daughter and nothing will ever change that" he inhaled and exhaled deeply "Be a good kid for your daddy, okay?" he held Melanie even tighter.

Addison was moved to tears. That scene was heartbreakingly beautiful.

Derek stood up and Melanie moved closer to her mother and grabbed her leg as a support. Addison looked at Derek straight in the eyes and so did he.

Breaking the eye-contact, Derek turned "Yang!" he shouted, gaining Cristina's attention "Could you please look after my daughter for like ten minutes?"

Cristina looked at Derek, then at Addison and finally at Melanie.

"I uh-" she played it safe "I'm not good with kids, Dr. Shepherd"

"She's a good child, Yang" he reassured Cristina and took five dollars out of his lab coat's pocket "Go down to the Cafeteria and buy her a Sunkist" Derek then turned to Melanie "Be nice with Yang, honey"

Melanie nodded and Cristina couldn't do anything but going to the Cafeteria with the Shepherds' child.

"So?" Addison crossed her arms on her lap.

"I just wanted us to be alone… to talk" he tried to grab her arm but she moved away.

"Don't" she intimated.

"What's wrong, Addison?"

"Nothing, Derek. Everything's just perfect, don't you see?" she asked sarcastically.

"Addison, please" he looked down at his dark blue Crocs.

"Don't worry, Derek. As soon as Melanie comes back, we'll leave" she paused for a second "You'll never see me again, if that makes you feel better."

"Don't be stupid, Addison. You can come to Seattle sometimes…"

"Don't you understand?" her voice started to break "I _don't want_ to see you again! I can't handle you playing house with Meredith. I just can't!" she cleared her throat "I'm sorry" she tried to walk away but Derek blocked her, entwining his strong fingers around her thin fist.

"Just give me two more minutes, please" he begged her and let go of her fist.

Addison simply nodded and looked away. She was already starting to lose the control of the situation.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through" Derek whispered "I should have been there for you during the pregnancy and who knows, maybe we would have fixed our problems" he swallowed "I uh… Our marriage… It's not all your fault" he admitted "It's my fault too. I shouldn't have left you in the middle of the night" his voice broke and he cleared his throat "I really wanted you to know this. For what it's worth, I'm sorry"

Taken aback by his unexpected apologizes, Addison felt the urge to hug him and so she did. Her arms around his neck, her chest so close to his one that she could hear his heart beating, her eyes closed enjoying the moment. Her tears dipped his white lab coat, his tears dipped her long red hair.

Addison whispered goodbye into his ear and let go of him. She heard him calling her name but she didn't care, she ran to the Cafeteria where she met Melanie and Cristina. She thanked Cristina, took Melanie by the hand and left the hospital.

The cold breeze made her shiver. She quickly wiped away her tears and she laced herself into her warm coat.

"Are you ready, honey?" she managed to say, her voice still broken.

"I am" Melanie nodded "Are you?" she raised an eyebrow like her mother always did.

"I _have_ to be ready, babe" Addison bit her lower lip and walked to the parking lot with Melanie.

The redhead woman was about to call a cab when she heard somebody calling her name. Fighting the urge to run, she turned and she saw him, running under the rain.

"Daddy!" "Derek!" Addison and Melanie simultaneously exclaimed.

"Hey Melanie" a female voice shouted, out of the blue "I might have something for you. Wanna come with me?" Cristina Yang asked.

Addison looked at Cristina who was staring at her like she had to allow her own daughter to go.

"Go, Mel" Addison nodded "I'll come back in a few, okay?"

Melanie didn't even reply. She ran to Cristina and went into the hospital with her. The toddler had no idea what Cristina might have for her but she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her friends in Seattle.

"What do you want, Derek?" Addison hissed.

Derek looked for something in his lab's coat and then he took a little thing out of it.

"Do you remember this?" he asked, showing her his wedding ring.

"Derek…" she whispered.

"Do you remember this?" he repeated, raising his voice.

"Of course I do" her voice was so low he could barely hear her words.

"With this ring, that day" he took a deep breath "I promised you that I'd be there for you always and forever, that nothing would have torn us apart. I promised you-" his heart started to beat faster "I promised you that I would have loved you forever, every day until eternity-"

"Don't do this, please…" she interrupted him, her voice broken by the sobs.

"I'm not done yet, Addison" he stated, moving closer to her "What I've done to you it's horrible, it's unforgivable" he shrugged "I don't expect you to forgive me now or-"

"I've already forgiven you, Derek" she admitted in tears.

He looked impressed, his eyes were shining even in the rain "I want us to be together again" he finally confessed, his eyes looking into hers "With Meredith… I thought she was what I wanted but she's not. She's not you, Addison" he tore up a little "You're the one that I want. You and Melanie are my family, you are my life, my everything" he gently wiped away the tears that were streaming down Addison's face "You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. You're the one I want to say goodnight before going to bed and I want you to be the first person I see in the morning. I want us to grow old together. We can be perfect again, Addison."

"It's just that…" she sniffed.

"I understand if you're not ready yet, if you don't feel like being with me now but-"

"Last night" Addison interrupted him "I meant it"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what happened. Let's go back to the start, let's start fresh…" he whispered, devastated "If you give me a chance to make things right, Addie, I-"

Addison pressed her lips against his, forcing him to stop talking. She pulled him into her arms, her black umbrella felt on the asphalt and raindrops started to fall on her head. Her fingers ran through Derek's hair, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Their tongues harmoniously danced together in perfect synch, their tears got mixed with the salty raindrops.

They just couldn't let go of each other. They had finally found each other again.

"I love you, Addison" Derek whispered when he had to break the kiss in order to get some air.

"I love you too, Derek."

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** The song "The Scientist" is in Derek's POV.


	15. Had i known how to save a life?

**Fandom:** Grey's Anatomy  
**Character: **Addison & Derek  
**Rating:** T  
**Status**: Complete  
**Disclaimer : **Characters and show belong to Shonda Rhimes. Title of the fiction belongs to the Umbrellas. Title of the chapter belongs to The Fray.  
**Author's Note: **All good things must come to an end and so does this story. That's right, this is the last chapter. Few chapters ago I posted that this would have been the last one so I planned the story in this way. Well, this is the longest fan fiction I've ever written and I'm very proud of myself because it turned out pretty good and letting go of it is not as easy as it seems. That being said, I'd like to thank everyone for reading it and for leaving such wonderful reviews. It really means a lot to me and, seriously, reviews are really important for a writer. Talking about the title, I decided to use "Had I known how to save a life?" for this last chapter because the first chapter was called "How to save a life" and in this way I'm giving the story some sort of roundness. Furthermore, this title can be intended in both Addison's and Derek's POV, in the figurative sense, of course. So guys, enjoy the last chapter!

**Just like ships, we float through each other's lives.**

**- Chapter 15 -**

**[ Had I known how to save a life? ]**

"I'm home!" Melanie shouted, slamming the front door behind her . She got rid of her brown parka and her brown snow boots and walked to the kitchen. Her cheeks were red due to the cold weather and some tiny snowflakes were lying on her red hair.

It was a snowy day of December, the last day of school before Christmas Holidays and she had had only three classes in the morning.

Melanie loved Christmas and it was her favorite holiday, she loved Christmas even more than her own birthday. Probably because the brownstone was all decorated with red and gold decorations, the roof was surrounded by a chain of sparkling lights and a huge Christmas Tree embellished the living room.

She heard some voices coming from the kitchen and a big smiled appeared on her face. The door was open and a chubby little boy was crawling on the floor towards her.

"Hey Little Sloan!" she exclaimed, picking the baby up. The kid was one year and a half and he was the most adorable little boy Melanie had ever seen.

"Will you ever stop calling him that way?"

"Aunt Amelia!" Melanie smiled and moved closer to her aunt "For the records, I won't" the redhead chuckled.

Amelia snorted in reply and took a bite of her sandwich.

"Don't look at me like that!" she said with her mouth full "I'm starving!"

"My mom says that you shouldn't overeat" Melanie replied, rubbing the baby's back "How was your ultrasound?" she asked and with her free hand she caressed Amelia's belly.

"We finally know the sex!" Amelia exclaimed, excited "It's a girl!"

"Oh my God! That's great, Aunt Amelia!" Melanie shouted and hugged her aunt "Do you have a name?"

"Well…" she started "We like Emily Heather. What do you think?"

"Emily Heather Shepherd Sloan" Melanie spelled every word loud and clear "It sounds cool!"

"I knew you would have liked it!" Amelia winked and took the baby from Melanie's arms because he had just started to whine "He's tired. I'll go upstairs and put him to sleep"

Melanie nodded and finally entered the kitchen.

"Mommy! Daddy!" she happily greeted her parents.

"Hey sweetie! How was school?" Derek walked to his daughter and kissed the top of her head. At the age of ten years, Melanie was quite tall.

"Good" Melanie shrugged "What are you two cooking?" she asked, looking at the pots on the cookers.

"Pasta with meatballs" Addison replied "You hungry?"

"I'm starving!" Melanie nodded "And so is Aunt Amelia" she couldn't help but laugh a little.

"I know, she eats all the time" Derek laughed.

"She's gonna get gloriously fat" Addison chuckled "Did she tell you about the sex of the baby?"

"Yes, she did!" Melanie exclaimed "I'm so happy!"

"Jackson Noah Shepherd Sloan is having a baby sister!" Mark got into the room and poured himself a glass of coke.

"Uncle Mark!" Melanie greeted him "You're happy, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, chipmunk!" he giggled "When we found out that Amelia was pregnant, we both wanted Jackson to have a sister. And she's gonna have the Sloan nose!"

"Stop that!" Addison laughed "Jackson has it too"

"All my children are going to have it!" he grinned.

"What are you talking about, Mark?" Amelia came back to the kitchen "I ain't your baby-maker! We won't have other children after Emily!"

"We'll see, honey, we'll see" he pulled her into his arms and kiss her on the lips.

"Eww! Gross!" Melanie grimaced and everybody in the room started to laugh.

XXX

Addison was seated on her bed with baby Jackson in her arms. Amelia had fallen asleep right after lunch and Mark had to go to the hospital so she had to take care of their child. Not that it bothered her, actually she really loved her nephew. The baby boy was sleeping peacefully, his breath was regular and he smelled like milk.

Outside the weather was cold and snowy, it had been snowing for days. Addison loved Christmas time more than anything else and spending it with her beloved ones was the best way to celebrate her favorite holiday.

She leaned her back against her soft pillow, wore her glasses and started to read the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The redhead had just started to read the first page of it that Jackson started to cry.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked Jackson and rubbed his back.

The baby started to cry louder so Addison got up and started walking in her room, cradling him and singing him a lullaby. Jackson just wouldn't stop crying.

The door opened and Derek entered the room.

"I think he misses his parents" Addison shrugged.

"Give him to me" Derek suggested and took the baby from Addison's arms. The man twirled the little child in the air and suddenly baby Jackson started to laugh and giggle.

"Seriously?" she laughed, looking at her husband and nephew.

"He loves me" he chuckled "You know" he sat on the bed and kept playing with his nephew "I wish I was there when Melanie was his age" his eyes darkened a little.

"You're here now" she gently replied, placing an arm on his shoulders "We can't change the past but we can have a better future" Addison kissed Derek on the cheek.

"You're right" he nodded and kissed her back.

"I'm always right, Derek Shepherd!" she joked and gave him a slap on the back.

"I wouldn't be so sure!" he smiled and stood up "He has fallen asleep again. I'll take him to his mother."

All alone in her bedroom, Addison couldn't help but think about how her life had changed in those seven years. Frankly, she used to think about it every night before falling asleep but still, when she was alone, she couldn't help but get carried away by the memories.

She laid on the bed and closed her eyes. Memories started to play in her mind like a black and white old movie.

That famous night where Addison and Derek shared a passionate kiss under the rain was the beginning of their new life together. The beginning of their second chance.

After the surgery, Callie volunteered to look after Melanie so Addison and Derek spent the night in her hotel's room. They had the most mind blowing sex of their lives and while being one thing only, their souls connected and promised each other that they would have never been apart again.

Two days later the Shepherds left Seattle for good. Melanie finally had a father and they finally were a real family. They chose to live in New York because that was the place where Melanie was born and also because both Addison and Derek loved the Big Apple.

They started their new life in their brownstone and Derek started to work few days later his arrival in New York. Everybody was happy to see him again, to see that he had made the best choice of his life. The only one person who felt awkward around Derek was Mark and it actually took Derek few more months to let Mark be part of his life again. Forgiving his best friend for the cheating was one of the hardest things Derek had ever done but, eventually, he realized that he missed his best friend too much and giving him another chance was the right thing to do.

Mark and Amelia started to date and it all started with them being friends with benefits. It didn't take them long to admit that they had feelings for one another and he asked her to marry him on Melanie's seventh birthday.

Addison had finally found the peace she had been looking for since Derek left her. Raising a child – a sick child – on her own hadn't been easy and, looking at her friends happily married, made her feel lonely and miserable. She now knew that bringing Melanie to Derek was the best thing she could have done in that situation, both for her daughter and for herself.

Derek was her soulmate, he was the one who was supposed to be there for her always and forever and even if they had both made mistakes, he was still the one for her and nothing would have ever changed that.

Melanie was growing up strong, smart and beautiful. She loved science, maths, chemistry and she never skipped her ballet classes. She had a special bond with her father, probably because he hadn't been there for her from the start. They even had their special father-and-daughter day where Derek brought her to have a pizza or to the movies or the funfair but it was just the two of them.

Someone opened the door and Addison immediately opened her eyes and sat up. Her memories just faded away in a beautiful smoky cloud.

"Mom? Uncle Archer texted me. He's coming over for dinner" Melanie announced, smiling. She really loved her Uncle Archer, he was really fun to be around with and he even let her take a sip of beer when her parents weren't nearby.

"Why did he text you? He usually texts me or your father" Addison shrugged and walked to the door. Both mother and daughter left the room and walked downstairs.

"I-uh" Melanie whispered and finally sat on the couch next to her father.

"Melanie? Are you covering his damn ass again?" Amelia shouted from the kitchen.

"He's bringing Vanessa" Melanie admitted, looking down at her pink slippers.

"That's why he texted you!" Addison hissed.

Vanessa was Archer's latest chick and she worked with him at the hospital, she was Head of Oncology. She was a brilliant doctor and a kind person but Addison hated that Archer always brought his ladies to her place. According to her, it wasn't good for Melanie because all those Archer's friends with benefits would have given Melanie a bad example of love life.

Amelia entered the room with Jackson in her arms. She put him on the ground and the baby started to play with his toys on the carpet.

"She's nice, Addison" Amelia said, biting her Granny Smith apple "She likes kids. I'm sure we'll have fun together."

"Amelia…" the redhead snorted, giving her sister-in-law a strict glare.

"What?"

"Filter!" Derek exclaimed.

"Fine, fine" Amelia simply said and sat on the carpet with her son.

"Vanessa is the best he's ever had" Melanie whispered "I like her, I really do"

"I know, honey" Derek hugged his daughter "But you know your uncle… he's not good at relationships"

"I know, I know" the child nodded "He knew you two would have gotten angry" she chuckled.

"Of course I'm angry!" Addison replied "It'd be better if we had to work tonight" she sighed.

"Oh mom!" Melanie protested "Come on!"

"Okay, fine. It's just a dinner after, all" Derek gave up, he just couldn't resist his daughter's puppy eyes.

"You two…" Addison pointed her finger at her daughter and husband "You two are unbelievable!"

Derek and Melanie shared one of their special father-and-daughter look and burst into laughter. Addison wanted to be mad at them, she really wanted it but she just couldn't be angry at the two most important people in her life for something silly like that. She joined the laughter and looking at her family so happy and close made her heart melt.

All the pain, all the sorrow, all the suffering she had been through when Derek was away was gone. She put those devastating memories in a tiny box of her brain and she had promised herself she would have never opened it.

There was no time to cry on the past, she had to focus on the life she was living. It didn't matter if they had missed almost four years of life together because they had so much to look forward to and they would have been trough everything together.

Thing is that, when two people are meant to be together, it doesn't matter what happens to them because they'll always find a way to make things right, to make things work. Because when there's love, nothing else matters.


End file.
